Budget 2027: Government-owned Entities Bill to be drafted next year, RM1.1b for enforcement agencies’ operations

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Enforcement agencies, including the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), will receive RM1.1 billion to strengthen their operations under Budget 2027.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister, made the announcement while tabling Budget 2027 at the Dewan Rakyat today.

The government, he said, will also draft a new Government-Owned Entities Act to strengthen good governance in government-owned companies and statutory bodies and prevent major financial scandals such as 1MDB and the mismanagement of Tabung Haji and Felda from recurring.

“With the Government Procurement Act coming to force starting 2027, the government will improve transparency and publish project details, including the contractors and contract value,” Anwar said.

“When governance is corrected, the benefits resulting from the change will contribute to the people’s welfare,” he added.

Anwar also said revenue generated from loan repayments, including from education and business loans, disbursed to federal statutory bodies must only be used for the approved purposes and target groups. This, he said, also applies to interests collected from such loans. 

He also singled out the reforms that his administration has achieved since coming to power in 2022, including abolishing mandatory death penalty and penalties for suicide and enacting the Online Safety Act and the Anti-Bullying Act.

“Clearly, the hardest change is the reforms to limit one’s own powers,” he said, referring to the ongoing efforts to secure a two-thirds majority to cap a prime minister’s tenure to two terms.