Anwar warns civil servants against delays in implementing Budget 2027
PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has warned civil servants against bureaucratic delays in implementing Budget 2027 measures, saying policies and allocations would mean little unless government agencies delivered them efficiently.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the government’s ability to translate its plans into tangible benefits for Malaysians would be the real measure of the budget’s success.
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“A budget can be drawn up, but the challenge lies in its implementation,” he said at the Finance Ministry’s monthly assembly here today.
“The test is not in the policies. It is not in how impressive the framework looks, but in our ability to implement it with sincerity. That is the test.”
He criticised slow administrative processes, saying some government offices were still taking far too long to complete basic tasks.
“Work is still sluggish, still slow. A letter that can be answered in one day takes two weeks. That is a disease for the country,” he said.
Anwar said the responsibility extended from the Treasury secretary-general to department heads, directors and director-generals, who must ensure that public duties were carried out with integrity.
He reminded civil servants that improved remuneration came with expectations of better service and stronger safeguards against corruption.
“I want them to work hard. I want them to avoid leakages. I want them to put an end to corrupt practices.
“So I must be fair to them,” he said, referring to the additional RM18 billion in expenditure for public sector salary adjustments.
Anwar said the government had also increased allocations for Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) from RM8 billion to RM15 billion, despite pressure on public finances.
He stressed that assistance and reforms had to be accompanied by an administration capable of delivering results, rather than allowing decisions to remain on paper.
Citing measures initiated soon after the Budget 2027 announcement, he said registration for housing at Bandar Madani in Bukit Jalil had opened on Monday, followed by RM1,000 in assistance for taxi drivers on Wednesday.
He said the assistance was funded through proceeds from a new vehicle registration number plate initiative.
“The money is already there. So Minister Loke asked, can we distribute it? I said, okay, distribute it to taxi drivers,” he said.
Anwar also cited plans to provide 10,000 student accommodation units at Universiti Malaya, saying he had asked the local authority to facilitate the approval process so the project could proceed quickly.
“The biggest problem facing our younger brothers and sisters, our children at university, is housing,” he said.
He expressed confidence that Malaysia could make greater-than-expected progress in economic strength and public well-being over the next two to three years, provided officials remained focused.
“I believe, from the bottom of my heart, that in these two or three years, we can elevate our economic strength and the people’s well-being far beyond what we have projected,” he said.