Budget 2027 debate highlights calls for fairer e-commerce competition, MAF veterans’ pension adjustments, spending reforms and stronger support for farmers and the poor
KUALA LUMPUR: The need to ensure fairer competition in e-commerce for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), resolve pension adjustment issues affecting Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) veterans, and curb leakages in public spending were among the issues highlighted during the policy-stage debate on the Supply (Budget) Bill 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Besides economic and welfare issues, Members of Parliament also called for faster institutional reforms, needs-based assistance for padi farmers, and stronger support for the poor and the plantation industry.
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (MUDA-Muar) urged the government to take proactive measures to create a level playing field for local MSMEs, which face uneven competition from foreign manufacturers and sharp increases in fees charged by local e-commerce platforms.
He said large foreign businesses or e-commerce platforms could sell goods directly to Malaysian consumers without bearing the same obligations as local businesses, including those relating to taxes, labour regulations and social security contributions. This exposed MSMEs, which provide more than 8.1 million jobs, to the risk of going out of business.
“MSME entrepreneurs in Malaysia are not asking the government to prop them up or to shut down this competitive system altogether. They simply want fairness so that competition is fair,” he said.
As a solution, Syed Saddiq proposed local registration requirements for foreign manufacturers or sellers, as well as expediting the introduction of an E-Commerce Bill that would include consultation mechanisms and require at least 30 to 90 days’ advance notice before any platform fee increases took effect.
Meanwhile, Datuk Khlir Mohd Nor (PN-Ketereh) said the government should expedite a resolution to the pension adjustment issue affecting MAF veterans who retired before Jan 1, 2013, noting that the number of veterans in this group was dwindling.
“Some of them may soon no longer have the opportunity to benefit from this outcome. This is deeply saddening, as they have waited a long time for the government to give due attention to their rights and welfare,” he said, adding that the veterans concerned had been waiting almost 13 years for the pension adjustment.
On institutional reform, Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah) urged the government to reintroduce the Constitution (Amendment) Bill to limit the Prime Minister’s tenure to 10 years during the current parliamentary sitting.
He said the move was important as part of institutional reform and would demonstrate leaders’ willingness to curb the concentration of power and stamp out the misappropriation of public funds.
Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman (PN-Bachok) called on the government to ensure prudent management of public spending, curb leakages and ensure that every allocation approved delivered tangible benefits to the people.
Similarly, Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun (PH-Port Dickson) urged the government to strengthen revenue collection and curb leakages, while ensuring that approved development projects were implemented on schedule.
In the agriculture sector, Datuk Ahmad Saad @ Yahaya (PN-Pokok Sena) urged the government to expedite the distribution of Baja Padi 3 (Padi Fertiliser 3) which had been delayed, to prevent potential crop losses and protect the income of more than 38,000 padi farmers.
Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) called for wider access to needs-based educational assistance and economic opportunities for poor families from minority communities, regardless of race.
He cited the 2024 poverty rates of 9.5 per cent among the Chinese community and 9.9 per cent among the Indian community, saying the figures showed that poverty was not confined to any one ethnic group.
Meanwhile, Bakri Jamaluddin (PN-Tangga Batu) urged the government to provide more adequate support for the plantation industry, particularly to accelerate oil palm replanting, address labour shortages and improve smallholders’ productivity.
“Levy collections in 2024 and 2025 exceeded RM3.6 billion. Unfortunately, not a single sen was returned to the industry, as all the levy revenue was used to finance cooking oil subsidies,” he said.