Pre-election budget almost a certainty for Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

ONE thing is almost certain about Malaysia's 2018 budget: with only 8-9 months left before the 13th Parliament is automatically dissolved, the fiscal blueprint is invariably going to be a pre-election budget geared to boost sentiment at the polls.

Analysts expect Budget 2018 to provide further impetus for the nascent recovery, with direct handouts to the bottom 40 per cent of households and additional perks aimed at core voter groups that have traditionally supported the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government.