Economists laud Anwar’s ‘strong’ Budget 2023

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KUALA LUMPUR – Economic and financial observers have hailed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Budget 2023 announcement as a “strong start” that will help address the cost of living, especially for those in the B40 and M40 groups, while reviving the nation’s economy.

Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir, the group chief executive of AMMB Holdings Bhd, said the proposed budget will help improve domestic economic prospects given the higher allocation of RM97 billion for development expenditure.

He said in tandem, the fiscal deficit is projected to narrow to 5.0% of the country’s gross domestic product, which demonstrates the government’s financial prudence in managing the economy.

“At AmBank, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the bedrock of our customer base and we are encouraged by the government’s efforts to support this crucial pillar of our economy – specifically as a result of the RM10 billion loan funds to be provided by Bank Negara Malaysia to ease the financial burden of SMEs as well as Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan to provide a guarantee of up to RM20 billion, focusing on sectors such as high technology, agriculture, and manufacturing,” Sulaiman said in a statement.

“This will certainly empower local SMEs.”

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Biggest winners of Budget 2023 2.0

KUALA LUMPUR – The revised Budget 2023 tabled by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today is seen as an all-encompassing one. 

The 10th prime minister’s maiden budget has even earned some praise from the opposition amid a bleak global economic outlook for the year and challenges in addressing leakages and graft.

Announcing a raft of initiatives and plans, Anwar kicked off his two-hour speech to lament how the national debt and liability have surpassed a staggering RM1.5 trillion today, equivalent to 81% of the gross domestic product (GDP).

With the theme Developing Malaysia Madani, the allocation under Budget 2023 has been revised upwards to RM386.14 billion from RM372.3 billion in October last year.

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