The Finance Ministry said as the revised Budget did not exceed the limit approved by Parliament, there was no need to table it. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak revised the national budget amid a weakened ringgit, plunging oil prices, and floods which devastated the east coast of the peninsula. – The Malaysian Insider pic, January 23, 2015.The Finance Ministry has clarified that the development expenditure of RM50.5 billion, as announced in the Budget 2015 last October, consists of RM48.5 billion in development expenditure and RM2 billion in contingency reserve.In a statement today, the ministry said the contingency reserve is meant for urgent and unforeseen expenditure, for which there is no existing allocation."It is only recognised as expenditure, when it is used. Hence, it [RM2 billion] did not come into the calculation of the fiscal deficit," it said.On the budget deficit, the ministry said it was initially estimated at RM35.7 billion or 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."With lower revenue and a revised GDP growth forecast for 2015 of 4.5% to 5.5%, the budget deficit is now estimated at 3.2% of GDP or RM37 billion," it explained.The ministry stressed the measures announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Tuesday did not involve any additional or supplementary expenditure.As the measures did not exceed the ceiling approved by Parliament, the Budget is not required to be tabled again, it said."As a responsible government, the finance ministry will continue to closely monitor external developments and the impact on the domestic economy," it added.Meanwhile, the ministry said the Budget was initially formulated based on a Tapis crude oil price of US$105 a barrel, adding that Tapis crude oil typically commanded a premium of about US$5 a barrel over the dated Brent Crude Oil Index."Given the need to monitor prices closely, amid continued falling prices of crude oil, reference was made to Dated Brent at US$100 per barrel in the Prime Minister’s special address," it said.It added that Putrajaya had since revised the price assumption for dated Brent to an average of US$55 per barrel for 2015.The ministry also said any queries or clarifications on the Budget can be emailed to pro@treasury.gov.my. – The Edge Markets, January 23, 2015.
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