News analysis
In the final lap, Malaysia’s PM Anwar returns to base with reformist budget
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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim promised to deepen reforms and the fight against corruption and followed up with further steps when tabling Budget 2027 on Oct 9.
ST PHOTO: SHANNON TEOH
- Anwar Ibrahim’s Budget 2027 is a reformist “national covenant” before GE16, mixing anti-graft pledges, student protections and social spending to win back middle-class and young voters.
- The budget raises cash aid, wages, tax relief and student loan help, while also easing burdens for workers and pensioners, though some wage changes start later and exclude smaller firms.
- It also boosts bumiputera support and new oversight laws to prevent scandals like 1MDB, Tabung Haji and Felda, as Anwar tries to balance reform, race politics and coalition pressure.
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KUALA LUMPUR – As the clock ticks towards Malaysia’s general election due by February 2028, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has finally remembered that he is president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), a party dedicated to social justice, and chairman of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, which triumphed in the past two national votes on a reformist and anti-graft platform.
His Budget 2027 speech on Oct 9 saw spending reoriented towards his largely middle-class support base which has wavered over the past year, and to provide more help to low-income Malaysians. There was also a clear push towards fulfilling non-expenditure electoral pledges such as halting disciplinary action against student activists and new oversight laws aimed at preventing the repeat of scandals of the past, like those involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Tabung Haji and Felda.