PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has clarified that the government's spending rationalisation will not affect the intake of new doctors and nurses or the expansion of school capacity, amid public confusion over recent budget adjustments.
"I want to clarify the restructuring of certain expenditures, because there has been confusion," he said, stressing that recruitment in the healthcare sector "is not affected at all".
"For medical services, the intake of new doctors and nurses - all of this is not affected, not impacted.
"The construction of clinics is also not affected. Only the scope of more luxurious hospital projects will be reduced," he told reporters when met at the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry’s monthly assembly here on Monday (May 4).
Anwar said while the Education Ministry would see some expenditure cuts, key priorities such as building new classrooms to accommodate student intake would continue as planned.
"For schools, although we are reducing some spending under the Education Ministry, the construction of new classrooms for current student intake is not affected," he said.
He dismissed claims that the government was cutting essential spending on healthcare and education, saying such reactions were premature.
"Some people are too quick to react, saying how can we cut or reduce spending for schools and hospitals. That is not true," he said.
Instead, Anwar said the rationalisation targets non-essential or excessive spending, including overseas courses, lavish events and overly expansive development projects.
"What we consider excessive spending, such as unnecessary courses, will be reduced.
"If courses can be conducted locally, then it is sufficient to do so without sending participants abroad," he said.
He said official events previously held at luxury hotels would instead be conducted within government premises, while project scopes deemed excessive would be scaled back.
Recently, it was reported that the Finance Ministry had proposed a RM5.4bil reduction in operating expenditure involving the health and higher education sectors as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s fiscal position.
