PETALING JAYA: The government’s limited revenue base has weakened its capacity to fund essential sectors such as education, healthcare and infrastructure, leaving Malaysians and taxpayers to bear a growing share of the financial burden, says MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
“Malaysia’s government revenue, estimated at only 16.1% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), is among the lowest in Asia,” he said in Parliament, in remarks later shared on his Facebook page on Thursday (Oct 16).
He said the figure was lower than Thailand’s 18% and the Philippines’ 19%, and far below the OECD average, which exceeds 34%.
“With such limited revenue, the government does not have sufficient financial capacity to adequately fund essential sectors such as education, healthcare and infrastructure,” he said.
Dr Wee added that because government revenue collection remains inadequate, the financial burden of maintaining public services has, year after year, been gradually shifted to users and taxpayers.
He also noted that due to higher taxes and the introduction of new ones, government revenue increased by RM48.7bil or 16.5%, from RM294.4bil in 2022 to a projected RM343.1bil in 2026.
However, budget expenditure grew by RM130bil or 41.5%, rising from RM322bil to RM470bil over the same period.
As a result, the debt-to-GDP ratio increased from 60.3% in 2022 to 64.7% as of June 2025, while annual government debt interest payments have risen by RM17bil.
