KUALA LUMPUR – The government will increase the allocation for the maintenance of all types of schools by 50 per cent, from RM1 billion to RM1.5 billion, next year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.
He said the additional allocation would cover all priority school streams, including national schools, Chinese and Tamil national-type schools, religious schools, tahfiz and pondok institutions, as well as special education schools, Bernama reported.
“Everyone will be guaranteed to receive additional allocations,” he said in his National Day address at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here.
Anwar said the Education Ministry would begin field operations in every district next month to assess applications for school infrastructure repairs.
The move, he said, was aimed at identifying repair needs at an earlier stage and preventing necessary works from being delayed until the following year.
Meanwhile, Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, announced that the AI for the People programme would be opened from Sept 1 to 100,000 Malaysians aged between 18 and 30.
Young people who complete the prescribed modules will receive free three-month subscriptions to leading artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
“It includes knowledge of certified local AI chat…Gemini Enterprise from the United States as well as Wonder Clip and Mul Run from China, all will have access to the facilities,” he said.
For the public healthcare sector, Anwar said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) would provide RM1 billion to strengthen digital capabilities, including the implementation of electronic medical records and Internet connectivity at 150 hospitals and more than 2,000 public health clinics.
He said the initiative was intended to speed up treatment processes and reduce patients’ waiting times at public hospitals and clinics.
Anwar also announced that the annual sales threshold for exemption from e-Invoice implementation would be raised again, from RM1 million to RM3 million. This means businesses with annual sales of RM3 million or less would be exempt from the requirement.
Among other immediate measures, the government will provide an additional RM1 billion in microfinancing facilities, bringing the total allocation for 2026 from RM5 billion to RM6 billion.
It will also introduce the RM200 million MADANI Prosperity Grant to assist hawkers, small traders, night-market operators and mothers running businesses from home.
Anwar said the measures were introduced in response to continued cost-of-living pressures faced by Malaysians, rising costs affecting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as pressing needs involving school infrastructure and public healthcare services.
Although Budget 2027 will be tabled soon, he said several measures needed to be implemented ahead of the budget because households and businesses were facing immediate cost pressures.
“Therefore, on the eve of independence, I have had to make efforts to find ways, take measures and announce something that can provide temporary relief to you, schoolchildren, young people, housewives and mothers through today’s announcements,” said Anwar.
He announced six immediate measures for the people, covering students, young Malaysians, small traders and businesses, with the initiatives taking effect from Sept 1, 2026.
The measures include restoring the basic BUDI95 fuel subsidy eligibility from 200 litres to 300 litres a month, increasing the 2027 school maintenance allocation by 50 per cent to RM1.5 billion, and opening the AI for the People programme to Malaysians aged 18 to 30.
They also include the RM1 billion MCMC allocation to strengthen digital capabilities in public healthcare, covering electronic medical records and Internet connectivity at 150 hospitals and more than 2,000 public health clinics, as well as raising the e-Invoice exemption threshold from RM1 million to RM3 million a year.
The government will also increase microfinancing facilities by RM1 billion, bringing the total allocation for 2026 to RM6 billion, and introduce the RM200 million MADANI Prosperity Grant. – August 30, 2026