PETALING JAYA: Helping the rakyat deal with the rising cost of living and boosting the minimum wage were among the main thrusts in Budget 2025, which Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tabled on Friday (Oct 18).
The national budget totalled to RM421bil.
In comparison, it is a 6.9% increase from last year’s national budget of RM393.8bil.
Budget 2025, the third tabled by Anwar as Prime Minister, was themed “Membugar Ekonomi, Menjana Perubahan, Mensejahtera Rakyat” (Reinvigorating the Economy, Driving Reforms and Prospering the Rakyat).
Measures announced in the latest budget include various cash aid such as RM600 for single Malaysians, increasing the minimum wage from RM1,500 to RM1,700 a month and RM150mil for local authorities to clean drains to tackle flash floods in affected areas.
The biggest slice of the pie
The largest allocation in Budget 2025 will be set aside for the Education Ministry – the biggest recorded in Malaysian history.
The ministry will receive RM64.1bil, or 15.2% of the budget’s total allocation.
Shrink or expand?
The Foreign Affairs Ministry saw its allocation going up by 60.64%, the biggest growth in allocation for Bugdet 2025 compared to Budget 2024.
The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is second with a 28.91% increase, with the Human Resources Ministry in third at a 21.67% rise.
