Malaysia’s budget should stand if government re-elected: caretaker finance minister

MALAYSIA’s national budget for 2023 lapsed just days after it was tabled, as parliament was dissolved to make way for the 15th general election (GE15). But caretaker Finance Minister Zafrul Aziz expects the budget would be “roughly the same” if the incumbent government, which includes the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, wins at the ballot box on Nov 19.

“The budget as a whole will have to be more or less the same budget. Why? Because we will carry out what we have promised. We are not in the habit of breaking promises,” Zafrul, a banker-turned-politician, told The Business Times in an interview.

“This budget was developed with input from the ground. It is a good representation of what is truly needed across the various sectors. So, if that is the desired outcome, I don’t believe there should be much deviation,” said Zafrul, who marks his political debut in this year’s national polls as the BN candidate for Kuala Selangor.