Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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(Jan 17): Malaysia seeks to expedite priority projects while plugging leakages in its review of Budget 2023 amid rising sovereign debt levels, according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The government will prioritise ramping up the nation’s participation in technology and green economy and also focus on boosting small and medium enterprises even as it maintains fiscal discipline, Anwar said at a budget dialogue held in the administrative capital of Putrajaya on Tuesday (Jan 17).

Debt and liabilities are at about RM1.5 trillion currently, Anwar said, adding that the budget deficit is about 5.8% of gross domestic product in 2022. This year’s fiscal position won’t be comfortable, he said.

“The government must accept this fact. It cannot be businesses as usual. We cannot be content,” he said, adding that the maximum debt service is already approaching a level that’s more than what the country can manage.

Anwar, who doubles as the finance minister, is set to table the revised Budget 2023 to Parliament on Feb 24 against the backdrop of lingering price pressures at home and increasing risks to the global economy. A reformist who heads a multiracial coalition, Anwar has made protecting low- and middle-income groups from rising prices the top priority of his administration.

The previous government presented a tighter budget for 2023 in October, seeking to narrow the fiscal deficit. Parliament was dissolved before lawmakers could approve that spending plan, requiring Anwar to present a fresh budget that supports his coalition government’s aspirations.

The government saw about RM4 billion in leakages from a flood project alone and can save about RM10 billion in the procurement system, Anwar said while ordering agencies to speed up public works approvals. 

Anwar said his government will retain the ideal items in the budget but will make necessary changes to some to reflect the voters’ wishes. Malaysia is expediting the distribution this quarter of RM1.67 billion in cash aid to the poor, he said on Monday.

The government is unlikely to make “drastic revisions” to this year’s growth forecast as it finalises data ahead of the budget presentation, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said last week. 

Malaysia’s economic growth is projected to slow to 4%-5% in 2023, from a more than 7% estimate for last year, the central bank had said.

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