CLOSING CONVERSATION

The Budget exercises public power by balancing economic ambition, social protection and fiscal discipline.

The Budget expresses a social contract between government and society. Raising the ceiling means developing the industries and capabilities needed to grow Malaysia’s economy. Raising the floor requires ensuring that the resulting prosperity improves living standards and reaches people across society.

Fiscal reform must create financial space while distributing the burden of adjustment fairly. Supply disruptions, the pandemic, trade tensions and conflict in the Middle East have increased pressure on households and the government’s resources. Subsidy rationalisation reflects the challenge of strengthening public finances while recognising that lower-income households need greater protection than those better able to absorb higher costs.

Public acceptance depends on clear objectives, transparent explanations and attention to people’s circumstances. The Ekonomi MADANI framework provides a basis for defining success, assessing trade-offs and explaining why difficult decisions are necessary. Those decisions require careful deliberation because seemingly small percentages in a budget can represent consequences for millions of people.

Responsible government places limits on its own power and builds safeguards that endure beyond individual leaders.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act 2023 (FRA) strengthens fiscal discipline and parliamentary oversight. Its fiscal objectives and reporting requirements place ministerial decision-making within clearer institutional guardrails. This makes the exercise of fiscal power more transparent and accountable, while supporting the sustainability of public finances.

Proposed term limits reinforce the temporary nature of political power and encourage leadership renewal. Limiting tenure can help counter entrenched thinking, encourage fresh perspectives and make succession planning a priority. Strong institutions should preserve long-term national direction as leaders change, allowing renewal while maintaining continuity.

Kumpulan Wang Amanah Negara (KWAN) aims to preserve national wealth for future generations. As Malaysia’s oil and gas resources decline, stronger safeguards for the fund seek to sustain prosperity beyond the life of those resources. Preserving financial wealth, alongside investment in education, healthcare and skills, helps transfer both resources and opportunities across generations.

Malaysia’s sovereignty depends on preserving its ability to act and aligning national efforts around shared prosperity.

Malaysia seeks to be “friends to all and enemies to none” while advancing its own national interests. Maintaining constructive relationships across competing powers helps preserve Malaysia’s options and ability to act in an interdependent world. This requires pragmatic diplomacy anchored in a clear national agenda of strengthening the economy and improving Malaysians’ lives.

A diverse economy and an important role in global supply chains strengthen Malaysia’s position. Exposure to external markets makes domestic stability sensitive to developments beyond the country’s control. Strengthening economic resilience and the capabilities that make Malaysia valuable to international partners creates greater room to pursue its own development priorities.

National progress requires institutions and stakeholders to contribute towards a shared direction. Khazanah’s performance should be understood in relation to its Malaysia-centric mandate. Government and Khazanah need wider cooperation across the economy to build a more prosperous and equitable society that can sustain reform over time.

Quotes

“The art of government is the art of balancing. And it’s not an easy act.”
– YB Senator Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan

“I think power to govern is actually unlike endowed power. Government derives authority and power through elections. So, one of the things that preserves the right behaviour is actually to ensure the impermanence of that power.”
– Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi