ISKANDAR PUTERI, Aug 25 — Deputy Finance Minister 1 Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah today confirmed that Budget 2023 will be tabled on October 28 as scheduled in the Parliament’s calendar.

"The date of (the presentation) of Budget 2023 has been announced, which is on October 28, 2022 according to the Dewan Rakyat calendar which is public knowledge,” he emphasised.

"I don’t have the information (on the presentation being brought forward to next month). So far, it remains (on October 28),” he told reporters after witnessing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Futurise Sdn Bhd and Iskandar Investment Bhd Ventures (IIBV) to develop drone sports at Medini Iskandar Malaysia here, today.

Futurise was represented by chief executive officer Rosihan Zain Baharudin while IIBV by its managing director Zulfiqar Zainuddin.

Mohd Shahar was commenting on a report by a news portal that Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz is believed to be presenting Budget 2023 earlier to make way for the 15th General Election.

Meanwhile, commenting on several consumer associations’ insistence that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) establish a special team to investigate banks in relation to the loss of savings by customers, Mohd Shahar said the financial institutions need to be held accountable if the loss is due to the bank’s negligence.

He said that BNM is actively monitoring the issue, which is currently in focus. The matter was also raised and addressed several times in previous Dewan Rakyat sessions.

"Those who feel they have been shortchanged may report to the police or the respective banks as this is the existing procedure. The government will certainly instruct the financial institutions to check if they have been negligent and if so, they have to be responsible,” he said.

The media reported last Tuesday that consumer associations had urged banks to reimburse customers due to weaknesses in their security system. — Bernama