PUTRAJAYA: Budget 2027 is the result of good national financial management, with the savings achieved now being returned to the people rather than enjoyed only by certain groups, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister, who is also Finance Minister, said the government had to resolve the country's financial priorities first before gaining a greater capacity to channel savings to the people.
"That is why people ask me, why couldn't this be done two years ago? We resolved issues according to priority, fixing what is most important first.
"Money must be saved; do not be wasteful, do not lose it, and do not allow leakages... now that it has accumulated, we can return it to the people, not to ministers' allowances," he said in the Madani Budget 2027 Special Interview here on Saturday (Oct 10).
Anwar said good governance practices allowed the government to provide various forms of assistance and initiatives to the people, including the provision of sports shoes and aid for rubber smallholders and padi farmers.
He said this approach is the foundation for strengthening governance, which allows welfare initiatives to be implemented in stages according to the country's financial capacity.
The Prime Minister said the government previously had to focus on debt management and urgent needs, including school facilities and housing for military and police personnel.
He said the savings achieved have now given the government some extra room to increase assistance for the people, but the effort must be accompanied by continuous financial discipline.
"And now, I say, we have a little more capacity. But on the condition that we do not allow leakages to recur," he added.
When tabling Budget 2027 yesterday, Anwar announced increased allocations for the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) assistances to RM16bil from RM15bil, with all STR recipients receiving up to RM150 a month or RM1,800 a year.
Additionally, Malaysians aged 18 and above who do not receive the STR will receive the Madani Sara of RM100 twice, namely before Aidilfitri and in conjunction with the country's 70th National Day.
The Prime Minister said both initiatives will benefit up to nine million STR recipients and 13 million Malaysians, including the middle-income group (M40).
The Early Schooling Aid has also been increased to RM200 from RM150 this year, with an RM1 billion allocation benefiting 5.3 million students.
The government will also channel a one-off special financial assistance of RM1,000 to 38,000 taxi and rental car drivers, as well as 15,000 school bus drivers nationwide, following the revenue generated from the sale of 'H' special registration plates.
The assistance will be disbursed next week as part of measures to return the revenue to the people.- Bernama
