Political Economy of The Budgetary Process in Malaysia

The ruling political party or the ruling government has rights in drafting and implementing economic policies including the budget policy. In the case of Malaysia, as observed, the budget policy is associated with the long or medium term economic development plans that are drafted, current thinking or thought of economic policies and additional measures that would be introduced probably related to major economic events such as the impact of financial or global economic crises. Also the budget includes economic policies according to the ruling party’s manifesto and promises made during the election. Eventhough the budget is the ruling government’s privilege but the government’s financial plan, i.e the allocation and the manner of spending, taxation and borrowing are subject to law, acts, rules and procedures. The ruling government cannot simply utilize economic resources for its political means or interests. This paper argues that there is a solid link between the ruling political party with the preparation of the budget policy. To examine the matter this paper uses the survey method. This paper has found that in the case of Malaysia the Member of Parliaments do influence the outlining of the annual budget