WAS THIS AN “ELECTION BUDGET”?
Budget 2027 certainly offers something for almost everyone.
Lower-income households will receive more cash assistance, middle-income taxpayers get tax cuts, while additional support has been extended to civil servants, pensioners, students, gig workers, farmers, fishermen and small businesses.
Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, pointed to the wide “breadth of beneficiaries”, saying the government had sought to reach groups that previously fell through the cracks.
Gig workers, for instance, have long grappled with stagnant incomes and gaps in social protection, he said. Budget 2027 includes measures to raise their earnings and subsidise social security and retirement contributions.
“Anwar is pushing for better wages for them, as well as everyone else in the lower- and middle-income groups,” Azmi told CNA.
The most widely distributed benefits come through the government’s STR and SARA financial assistance programmes. Their allocation will rise from RM15 billion (US$3.67 billion) this year to RM16 billion in 2027, with up to nine million STR recipients eligible for as much as RM150 a month in SARA assistance.
These two initiatives are direct cash aid programmes introduced under the Madani government framework to help Malaysians manage the cost of living.
Workers will also see Malaysia’s minimum wage rise from RM1,700 to RM2,000 a month from June, although smaller businesses are exempted.
