Budget 2024: A tough balancing act for Anwar

In 2022, the country’s fiscal deficit to GDP was recorded at 5.6%. The government aims to reduce the deficit to a range of 3% to 3.5% by 2025.

WITH two more weeks before Budget 2024 is unveiled, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should avoid repeating the same mistake made by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The government should not bundle drastic subsidy cuts and tax hikes together in a hasty attempt to lower the country’s fiscal deficits that have prolonged for more than two decades.