KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Madani government stands out as the only administration to allocate more than 10% of its annual budget towards subsidies and social assistance.
A comparative analysis of Anwar’s supply bills for the years 2023 and 2024 against the budget allocations of previous administrations since 2018 underscores this achievement.
For context, the government allocated RM393.8 billion in the recently-tabled 2024 budget, compared to RM386.1 billion in Budget 2023.
The Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Outlook for next year revealed that, in contrast to previous governments, Anwar’s administration is the sole government to allocate over RM25 billion in funds for subsidies and social aid, with RM58.69 billion (15.2%) allocated in Budget 2023 and RM52.77 billion (13.4%) in Budget 2024.
This is in stark contrast to Budget 2019, where only RM22.33 billion was allocated for subsidies, representing about 7.1% of the total budget that year.
Meanwhile, Budget 2020 allocated RM24.36 billion (8.2%), RM18.71 billion (5.8%) in Budget 2021, and RM17.27 billion (5.2%) in Budget 2022.
Notably, Budget 2024 saw the highest allocation for debt service charges, with RM49.62 billion, equivalent to 12.6% of the total budget.
In comparison, Budget 2023 allocated RM45.95 billion (11.9%) for debt service charges, RM43.17 billion (13%) in Budget 2022, RM39.03 billion (12.1%) in Budget 2021, RM35.05 billion (11.8%) in Budget 2020, and RM33.03 billion (10.5%) for Budget 2019.
This underscores that the current government is the only administration that prioritises subsidies and social aid over debt service charges.
Malaysia’s national debt has reached RM1.5 trillion as of 2023, which is over 80% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Budget 2024 allocated RM393.8 billion, representing approximately 19.9% of the GDP.
A significant portion of this amount was directed towards three ministries, which are Finance, Education, and Health, totaling 42.3% of the budget.
Some of the notable subsidies and social assistance allocated for the coming year include RM2.6 billion for farmers and fishermen.
Similarly, civil servants of Grade 56 and below, including those appointed under contract, will receive an interim payment of RM2,000 while the government reviews the Public Service Remuneration System. – October 16, 2023