{
  "id": 13060867,
  "title": "Malaysia budget: Anwar to boost welfare, keep subsidies amid inflation worries",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/malaysia-budget-anwar-to-boost-welfare-keep-subsidies-amid-inflation",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-09T07:31:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3370316/malaysia-budget-anwar-boost-welfare-keep-subsidies-amid-inflation-worries"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has unveiled Malaysia's 2027 Budget, with a focus on bolstering social welfare while maintaining subsidies to combat rising inflation. The 459.8 billion ringgit budget (US$112.5 billion) allocated to the government's coffers includes a significant portion dedicated to the social sector, with 161.6 billion ringgit earmarked for education, healthcare, and public services. This represents about a third of the total budget, aimed at addressing challenges such as inadequate welfare coverage for self-employed and informal workers, fragmented delivery of targeted cash aid, low student performance, and soaring medical costs.\n\nAnwar, who also serves as finance minister, acknowledged that his administration had fallen short of its promises to keep prices low, narrow the wage gap, and improve healthcare access. To tackle these issues, the government plans to enhance the quality and accessibility of public transport, digital infrastructure, healthcare, and education facilities, particularly in rural and interior regions where incomes are comparatively lower. The capital city of Kuala Lumpur, with a per capita income of 144,827 ringgit in 2025, sees a stark contrast to the state of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo, where incomes average 31,167 ringgit.\n\nIn terms of development expenditure, the government will allocate 83 billion ringgit for 2027, with the majority directed towards education, health, and defence. Meanwhile, Malaysia will continue to spend 72.7 billion ringgit on subsidies in 2027, a decrease from the estimated 74.5 billion ringgit needed to cushion the public against the impacts of the global energy crisis caused by the US-Israel war on Iran. This has led to a revision of the government's deficit target to 3.3 percent of GDP for 2027, down from the previously projected 3.6 percent. Despite these efforts, inflation is expected to hover between 1.8 and 2.8 percent in 2027, initially rising due to the lingering effects of higher energy, food, and other input costs before gradually easing later in the year. The economy is projected to grow at a rate of 4.8-5.3 percent in 2026, before moderating to 4.2-5.2 percent in 2027.",
  "summary": "Malaysia’s government will boost spending on social welfare while maintaining subsidies to rein in the cost of living under its 2027 Budget unveiled on Friday, as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim seeks to shore up public support while under pressure to call for an early general election. Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) has suffered bruising defeats in a series of state elections since December, as…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Vibes",
        "title": "Budget 2027: Anwar to chart path towards stronger growth, better jobs and higher living standards",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/budget-2027-anwar-to-chart-path-towards-stronger-growth-better-jobs",
        "published": "2026-10-09T01:56:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}