REFSA - Research for Social Advancement
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia REFSA
 
 


REFSA  - Research for Social Advancement

Welcome to REFSA

REFSA is an institute dedicated to intellectual interaction and open discussion on social, economic and contemporary issues affecting Malaysians.

We aim to conduct independent and forward-looking policy research, with a specific focus on institution monitoring. The purpose of this research is to inform society on the issues that are relevant to them, and to communicate these ideas for policy influence through their accessibility, accuracy and relevance.

The Budget: How the Government is spending OUR money
   
The BUDGET: What the Government is doing with our money

The federal government of Malaysia spends about RM200bn per year. On top of that, there is also spending by state and local governments. Where is all that money going? The Budget: How the government is spending OUR money is a guide to how the government raises its funds and how it chooses to spend that money.

Budgets are arguably the most critical macroeconomic instruments governments use to address long and short-term development goals. Public expenditure provides the infrastructure - transport, utilities, healthcare, education, defence and other basic services - necessary to meet the needs of the people and to stimulate growth.

Despite this, the budget is rarely put through the paces of thorough, accessible discourse. By addressing the issues of budget formulation, its components, sources of deficit, transparency and the political economy of government expenditure in Malaysia, the author sheds light on a topic that is usually conveyed through approximations, whitewashing and grand addresses.

This book serves us a timely reminder of the impact of the nation’s budgetary policies on our everyday lives. This simple, straightforward approach to the perplexing but important issue of the budget is the essential dummies guide; a must-read for every citizen and taxpayer.

 

 
Other Books

Najib's Challenge: Glory or Oblivion
Speaking For the Reformasi Generation
Straight Talk

 

 
 

Announcement

Event

"The Myth of Malay Supremacy:
A Personal Observation"
with Tunku Abdul Aziz.

Time: 5.30pm - 6.30pm
Date: 12th December 2009
Where: Annexe Gallery, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur

 
Click here for book reviews.



 
 
Events
Malaysian Matters
Latest Projects
 
 

8th November 2009
Reformasi Generation Speaks: Dialogue with Young Leaders, Nurul Izzah and Liew Chin Tong.
Han Chiang College, Penang

7th November 2009
Budget Training. The federal budget workshop and training on 7th November 2009, with John Fluharty and Robert Cushing.
Equatorial Hotel

1st October 2009
Straight Talk by YB Mulia Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz launch at the Royal Selangor Golf Club on 1st October 2009, with Tan Sri Robert Phang and Tun Mohammed Hanif bin Omar.
Royal Selangor Golf Club

 

 

 

 

This section will be updated soon.

Tempurung Series

In a nutshell...

REFSA has now embarked on its first range of books: the Tempurung series. This series advances the objective of REFSA to educate and encourage discussion by producing thoroughly researched and relevant books on socio-political matters.

The name of the series is taken from the Malay proverb “seperti katak di bawah tempurung” (“like a frog beneath a coconut shell”) which is an analogy for a sheltered or naive person. The Tempurung series aims to uncover the coconut shell and explain the facts of the institutions and issues that beset government and society in a simple and straightforward manner.

 
 

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