KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Government may soon be required to contribute at least 0.1% of its annual revenue to the National Trust Fund (KWAN), with the statutory contribution rate being a minimum threshold rather than a ceiling, says Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong.
This is provided for under the National Trust Fund Bill 2026, which was passed in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (July 16). The new Bill sought to repeal the National Trust Fund Act 1988 and transfer the fund's administration under the new law.
Under the proposed new law, Petronas will no longer be the sole contributor of the fund as the Federal government too will now have to make annual contributions to it.
“I wish to emphasise that the stipulated rate is a minimum rate. This means that whichever government is in office, if a future government decides to contribute more than this minimum rate from the relevant revenue, it would certainly be beneficial,” said Liew in his winding up speech.
Therefore, this is a floor, not a ceiling. The inclusion of the rate in the law is an intentional design feature, as it establishes a statutory contribution obligation towards intergenerational savings,” he added.
This obligation must remain robust across fiscal cycles and successive governments.
Withdrawals from the National Trust Fund(KWAN) will require parliament’s green light under a new law passed to govern the fund.
Liew said that the statutory contribution rate may only be changed by amending the Act itself.
He said the Bill will not impact the dividends paid to the government by PETRONAS as the discretion remains with the Board of the national oil company.
The government will, however, be required to channel at least 2% of the dividends into the fund, therefore, there will be no additional obligations imposed on the national oil company.
MPs had also raised the issue of the RM5bil withdrawal from the fund to purchase Covid-19 vaccines. While, the minister had the power under the previous act to sanction withdrawals, the new law requires Parliament’s approval.
Liew said the government had only tapped into KWAN twice since its establishment nearly 40 years ago.
“After almost 40 years, KWAN’s net assets had grown to RM22.43bil in 2024. Since its establishment, PETRONAS has remained the sole contributor to KWAN, with total contributions amounting to RM13.5bil,” he said.
Throughout this period, KWAN has only been utilised twice, including RM5bil between 2021 and 2023 to finance the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines, and RM42mil for the Malaysia Wetland Sanctuary Project in 1998. This record reflects the original intention behind the establishment of KWAN as a long-term national savings fund, to be used only when absolutely necessary,” he added.
The Bill was tabled for its first reading on July 14.
