CYBERJAYA (Sept 7): The Malaysian Government said the nation's export growth is a priority under Budget 2018, in order to strengthen the country's current account balance. 

Treasury Secretary General Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah said cost of living is also a crucial issue under Budget 2018.

"We will introduce measures to expand our exports to strengthen the nation's current account balance, which has (been) seen to be shrinking slightly.

"We also hope to address the issue of the cost of living in the country, so that the current cost of goods can [at least] be maintained so that people do not feel the pinch [of higher priced goods]," Mohd Irwan told reporters at the Global Entrepreneurship Community (Gecommunity) Summit 2017's pre-launch event today. 

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will table Budget 2018 in Parliament on Oct 27, 2017.

Mohd Irwan said today that the government hopes to maintain current levels of subsidies in the education and healthcare sectors. He said the government will reveal more details during the budget announcement.

"We can keep providing subsidies [now], because the economy is still growing," Mohd Irwan said. He said the government expects the country's 2017 gross domestic product to grow at least 5% from a year earlier.