PUTRAJAYA — Adjustments to government operating expenditure announced recently will not affect critical sectors such as healthcare and education, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.
The recruitment of new doctors and nurses, as well as the construction of clinics, will not be affected, while school construction projects, including the addition of new classrooms to accommodate student intake, will proceed as planned, he explained.
“Only the scope of more luxurious hospitals will be scaled back,” Bernama reports him saying after attending the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry’s monthly assembly, here, today.
Although the Education Ministry’s expenditure has been reduced, the construction of new classrooms to accommodate current student intake remains unaffected, he added.
Anwar criticised certain parties for reacting hastily and without relying on facts regarding the government’s spending restructuring measures.
The cost-saving efforts are focused on expenditures deemed excessive, including overseas courses, events held at luxury hotels, and development projects that go beyond actual needs.
Courses that can be conducted locally are to be held within the country, while ministries are to hold official events at their own premises to reduce costs, rather than at hotels.
“Events at luxury hotels will be stopped and held at ministries instead. Construction scopes that exceed normal requirements will be scaled back,” Anwar said.
Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, was commenting on Finance Ministry guidelines issued on April 29 about restructuring of federal operating expenditure across ministries to manage global supply disruptions and the government’s rising subsidy bill.
The announcement drew backlash when it was found that the overall targeted RM10 billion reduction in operating expenditure included RM3.06 billion from the Health Ministry and RM5.45 billion from the Higher Education Ministry.
The Finance Ministry subsequently clarified that the restructuring was focused non-critical areas involving event organisation and courses.
Anwar today also said that the Cabinet meeting this Wednesday will discuss the issue of rising prices faced by petty traders.
He said he obtained feedback directly from the traders, such as food stall operators, who told him that prices have been rising gradually week by week.
“I’m not hearing this from the Treasury secretary-general or secretaries-general – I’m hearing it from the shops,” Anwar said.
While official reports indicate prices remain under control, the reality at the grassroots level must be taken into account in formulating government policy, he added. – May 4, 2026