BUTTERWORTH: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim urged Malaysians to understand the scale of government spending before accepting claims.
He said the government has been spending between RM40bil and RM50bil annually to keep RON95 petrol prices at RM1.99 per litre.
He said the conflict affecting the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up global prices for fuel, fertiliser and other imported goods.
"The government pays the difference.
"While Petronas supplies about half of Malaysia's fuel requirements, the remaining half has to be imported, which exposes the country to international price fluctuations.
"Many neighbouring countries have recorded significantly higher fuel prices, while the Government continued subsidising petrol and diesel to ease the burden on Malaysians," he said during the opening of the National Training Week 2026 held at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Campus in Permatang Pauh on Saturday (July 25).
Anwar said the government allocates about RM15bil to RM16bil annually for the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) programmes.
"Additional assistance has been provided for students, including an extra RM100 for university students to purchase books on top of existing schooling assistance.
"There was an increase in civil servants' salaries as well as the public sector wages that had not been reviewed for 12 years.
"The latest salary revision will cost the government an additional RM18bil annually," he said.
"We are doing everything we can to protect the rakyat while continuing reforms.
"I urge the people to understand the scale of our spending before listening to claims," he said.
The annual programme later saw talks on artificial intelligence (AI), digital marketing and resume writing among others.
Also in attendance were Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan and Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
