KUALA LUMPUR: The Science, Innovation and Technology Ministry will see a smaller overall budget next year, partly due to the completion of one-off projects under the ministry as well as the country’s financial constraints, says Chang Lih Kang.
When delivering his ministry’s winding-up speech for the 2026 Supply Bill at the committee stage, the minister said his ministry would receive RM1.28bil in 2026.
The allocation, he said, comprised RM759.68mil for operating expenditure and RM516.21mil for development spending.
“While operating funds increased by RM21mil (2.81%), the development allocations fell by nearly RM21mil (3.6 per cent) compared with 2025.
“Overall, the ministry’s development budget shows positive growth of 33.5% from 2022 to 2026, proving that the allocation for the ministry has always been prioritised by the Madani government,” he told the Dewan Rakyat here, on Wednesday (Nov 19).
Chang said this in reply to the issue raised by MPs when debating the ministry’s allocation for the Budget 2026, who collectively said it was not sufficient.
He, however, said the ministry, being part of the government, must look into the current financial position of the country.
“I want to say that in genera,l many honourable members (MPs) raised that this decrease in the ministry’s allocation, or in particular the insufficiency of the development allocation, is indeed an issue that we must address seriously.
“And I can say or inform this Honourable House that the allocation is indeed not enough. There is no such thing as enough allocation; no matter how much allocation we get it will never be enough."
Chang said the budget reduction also reflects the government’s need to balance spending amid commitments such as civil service salary adjustments introduced this year.
“This is part of the financial reality we must take into account,” he said.
Chang explained that some agencies recorded lower allocations because certain major projects had been completed.
He provided an example involving the upgrading works at the National Science Centre recently, which were completed after nine months of renovation.
“Once a one-off project is finished, there is no reason for it to receive further allocation the following year,” he added.
He also shared that the development spending for science and technology has grown 33.5% between 2022 and 2026.
Even though the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) research funding has dipped, Chang said the allocations for STI development services have increased to 62%, to RM229.07mil for 2026, when compared to RM141.49mil set aside for this year.
