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Is the 'best finance minister' Anwar doing his magic for Malaysia again?
KUALA LUMPUR, April 26, 2025: Is Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister (PMX) Anwar Ibrahim doing his “financial magic” again as finance minister?
Under the racist Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Dr M) regime as finance minister, he steered Malaysia into seven successive annual budget surpluses.
Anwar is today the only Malaysian finance minister in history who delivered annual budget surpluses for the country.
After he was unceremoniously kicked out by Dr M, the country’s national debt started rising fast.
When Anwar took over as PMX in 2022, the national debt was RM1.5 trillion!
After two years plus as PMX and finance minister, Malaysia's national debt saw a reduction in 2024, with the fiscal deficit narrowing to 4.1% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), exceeding the initial target of 4.3%.
It was reported that Anwar’s Madani Unity Government (UG) is committed to further reducing the deficit to 3.8% this year. This reduction is part of a broader effort to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio and achieve a 3% fiscal deficit in the medium term.
And the corrupt, racial and religious bigoted Dr Akmal Saleh Umno wants the disgraced and shameless former prime minister Najib “1MDB” Razak to be freed!
No News Is Bad News reproduces below related news reports for our readers to judge Anwar’s performance as finance minister:
No News Is Bad News
For image info, go to https://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/cpteh/2013-03-11-story-h47835380-Malaysia_is_in_debt
National debt: Anwar says the buck stops here
KUALA LUMPUR, June 24, 2023: Malaysians can breathe a sigh of relief that they have at last a Government that says the buck stops here.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysian governments had been incurring debt since the 1970s but it was to develop the nation, not for mega projects.
“I assure Malaysians that the Unity Government (UG) will not burden the country (and future generations) by adding to the existing RM1.5 trillion (national debt),” he added.
This is likely to mean that the UG will stop borrowing, and thus not add to the national debt.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said: “We (in the Cabinet) say no more debt because who will have to bear it? It is already a burden on us and our children.”
No News Is Bad News reproduces below online news portal Free Malaysia Today’s report on what Anwar said:
Unity govt won’t add to RM1.5tril national debt, says Anwar
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the country has been incurring debt since the 1970s but it was to develop the nation, not for mega projects.
Lynelle Tham - 24 Jun 2023, 2:02pm
Anwar Ibrahim said he will put a stop to the practice of incurring unnecessary debt, especially for mega projects with excessive costs and high commissions that would burden the economy.
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has given his assurance that the unity government will not burden the country by adding to the existing national debt of RM1.5 trillion.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said the irresponsible practice of incurring unnecessary debt will be discontinued.
“We (in the Cabinet) say no more debt because who will have to bear it? It is already a burden on us and our children,” he said in a speech at a Negeri Sembilan rural and regional development ministry event today.
Anwar said the country had been incurring debt for many decades, starting with the administration under second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein in the 1970s. However, the debts were incurred based on the need to develop the country.
“The purpose of those debts was to open up lands, establish the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and develop rural areas,” he said.
“They were not debts for mega projects with excessive costs and high commissions that would burden the economy.”
Anwar added that Felda, Risda or Mara would not have existed today if Razak did not assume such debt at that time, as these organisations were established using loans from the World Bank.
In 1971, Razak introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP), which saw the inception of several government agencies such as Felda, Risda and Mara to uplift the poor and rural Bumiputera.
In January, Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said the national debt had reached RM1.5 trillion and required immediate action to address the issue as the figure was already more than 80% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
News
Anwar best person to lead Finance Ministry - Rafizi
Hariz Mohd, Isabelle Leong & Haspaizi Zain
Published: Nov 22, 2023 12:16 PM
Updated: 1:17 PM
PARLIAMENT | Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli today defended Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's decision to hold a second portfolio as the finance minister.
Speaking at the Dewan Rakyat, he said Anwar is the best person to lead the Finance Ministry where the premier can ensure government procurement projects are “really transparent”.
Rafizi (Harapan-Pandan) was answering a supplementary question by...
News
Surpluses on Anwar's watch, record debts on Najib's
Published: Nov 30, 2012 9:15 AM
Updated: 11:58 AM
YOURSAY 'Anwar's years as finance minister saw continuous budget surpluses. Now, however, the country faces its highest deficits ever and record domestic borrowings.'
Najib boasts of fiscal feats, says Anwar can't match
Wira: PM Najib Abdul Razak, you don't even know that fiscal responsibility is the most important task of a finance minister, on top of good growth.
Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's years as finance minister was the only time the country had continuous annual budget surpluses since the formation of Malaysia on top of high growth, up to the time he was unceremoniously kicked out.
Your tenure as finance minister sees the country having its highest deficits ever on top of record domestic borrowings.
Maplesyrup: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has gone up because of government spending.
It is like a man boasting of the big mansion and the sports cars he owns, but neglecting to mention that all were bought on loans.
Thanks to the big increase in deficits and national debt, we have a 30 percent increase in GDP (from US$6,700 to US$9,700).
Fiscal deficit must be slashed under Budget 2024, say economists
Cutting expenditure and putting Financial Responsibility Act in place are among the steps recommended.
Rajah Rasiah says reducing the national debt should be a priority, while Afzanizam Rashid believes putting the Financial Responsibility Act in place will bolster confidence in the government.
PETALING JAYA: For years now, Malaysia has been spending more than it makes, and the rate of increase in the deficit has been described as “alarming”.
In 2020, the shortfall amounted to 6.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP), and it rose to 6.4% in 2021.
It dropped to 5% under the first iteration of Budget 2023 that was tabled last October. Even so, it was still 1.6% higher than it was in 2019, before the Covid-19 outbreak.
The last time Malaysia recorded a fiscal surplus was from 1993 to 1997, before the Asian Financial Crisis. Over the five-year period, the surplus was 0.2% to 2.4% of GDP.
Economist Rajah Rasiah noted that the fiscal deficit is way higher than the 3% ceiling recommended under the proposed Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA).
“Indeed, the fiscal deficit has been widening over the last 30 years,” he told FMT Business.
The finance ministry said in March the national debt is expected to be fully settled in 2053 on the premise that no new loans are taken to finance the deficit and to refinance maturing debts from 2024 onwards.
As of end-2022, the debt stood at RM1.08 trillion or 60.4% of the GDP. When included with the government’s exposure to other liabilities, the total debt stood at RM1.45 trillion, or 80.9% of the GDP.
Under the revised 2023 budget, revenue was estimated to amount to RM291.5 billion.
Narrowing deficit a must
Rajah believes the government should prioritise reducing national debt in the upcoming Budget 2024.
“Reducing debt should be one of the targets of the government. The operating expenditure which, along with lock-ins such as pensions and salaries, already exceeds tax revenue,” he said.
“There is a need to prune down on unnecessary expenditure, and to seek more tax sources to generate revenue.”
Bank Muamalat chief economist Afzanizam Rashid agreed that what matters is the government’s credibility in controlling the debt size, especially on governance.
“In that respect, the tabling of the FRA would bolster confidence in the government in making sure their finances are transparent, well managed and with good governance,” Afzanizam told FMT Business.
On Sept 11, the finance ministry announced that its fiscal policy committee had agreed for the FRA to be tabled in this month’s parliamentary session.
The FRA, said the committee, would clarify the government’s responsibilities in formulating fiscal policies and managing public monies.
GST comeback?
To improve the nation’s fiscal standing, the economists have called for Putrajaya to consider reimplementing the goods and services tax (GST) as a measure to effectively raise revenue and reduce Malaysia’s fiscal deficit.
“The Malaysian economy has done well, having recorded an 8.7% GDP growth in 2022 and 5.6% growth in the first half of 2023, while recording an inflation rate of 2% in August 2023,” Rajah said. “It will be good to announce the introduction of GST this year, and implement it in 2025.”
With the GST, the government can better channel resources to assist the B60 households.
“The regressiveness of GST can be removed by returning the taxes paid by the B60 back to them through e-invoices into their accounts using tax identification numbers.
“That will amount to less than RM4 billion, while giving the government a revenue exceeding RM30 billion collected from the T40,” Rajah said.
Afzanizam agreed with Rajah’s view.
“There has been indication that the GST might make a comeback. Therefore, elaborating on this topic with a specific timeline would help the government to manage expectations among the general public,” he said.
“This may include mitigating factors such as more allocation on cash transfers should the GST go ‘live’.”
Afzanizam said regular engagement with businesses is needed in order to avoid any confusion if the government decides to go ahead with the GST.
“There must also be a roadshow on GST for the general public so that they would have better understanding and can appreciate the reason for policy changes and more importantly, how it can benefit them,” he said.
Malaysia first implemented the GST in 2015 under the Najib Razak administration. It was subsequently halted by Pakatan Harapan in 2018.
However, there have been calls by analysts and politicians to bring back the GST to improve Malaysia’s fiscal position.
Budget 2024 is scheduled to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday.
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