KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 – The government needs to implement fiscal reforms to ensure that the Malaysian economy remains on a sustainable and solid track, according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said that for Malaysia to start out towards becoming a high-income economy based on humane values, the fiscal reforms will be focused on targeted subsidies and revenue base expansion to create fiscal space that can be mobilised to improve the people’s welfare.
“The MADANI Government will also put a stop to the debt addiction syndrome in order to restore foreign investors’ confidence,” he said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister said fiscal reform measures, while inconvenient for everyone, is necessary to rejuvenate the national economy.
“Given the tax revenue-to-gross domestic product ratio of only 11.8 per cent, the government has limited space to invest in people development and provide the appropriate assistance to the vulnerable and needy groups,” he said.
Yesterday, Anwar chaired a Fiscal Policy Committee (FPC) meeting which discussed and examined the latest Malaysian economic scenario as well as the short to medium-term outlook for the country’s fiscal position.
He said that during the FPC meeting, committee members agreed to strengthen the Debt Management Office to enhance the government’s debt management as well as to streamline the role of the Finance Ministry’s Investor Relations Office that serves as the main reference centre for market investors.
Also present were Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, Treasury Secretary-General Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican, Bank Negara Malaysia governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Abdul Ghaffour, as well as Finance Ministry’s senior officials.
