Anwar says budget cuts to Education Ministry unavoidable but manageable

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today he saw no reason why the Ministry of Education cannot manage the impending cuts of its RM20 billion annual budget, as his government is forced to slash spending to cope with the economic fallout from war in the Middle East.

“You can appeal as much as you want but the cuts will still happen,” Anwar told top officials of the ministry who attended the 2026 National Book Fair here.

“It is impossible that from your RM20 billion allocation, you can’t make some savings. There are surely many areas in which funding can be saved but when it comes to the quality of education, access to education be it in schools or universities, God willing, there will be no disruptions.”

The MOE is one of several key ministries facing major spending cuts in the face of a global energy supply shock, which has pushed up Putrajaya’s petrol subsidy bills to some RM7 billion in April alone.

Malaysia is a net oil importer, which makes it vulnerable to the volatile movement in world oil prices.

Iran has maintained its blockades of key trade routes along the Strait of Hormuz, keeping international Brent crude prices averaging above US$100 per barrel since March.

The Anwar administration has said it remains committed to keeping RON95 petrol price capped at RM1.99 per litre, among the cheapest in the world.

The budget cuts drew some criticism, but Anwar said the cuts will only affect “non-critical” spending.

Today, the prime minister said ministry officials must not work in silos, and urged them to grasp the magnitude of the crisis Malaysia is facing.

“Ministries cannot think in silos. You can’t say ‘oh only our ministry is important the rest aren’t that’. Every single ministry is important… so in managing this there must be wisdom and good grasp of macro economics,” Anwar said.