PRIME Minister Najib Razak has presented for 2018 a national budget with more stimulus programmes to boost growth and more goodies aimed at shoring up support ahead of the general election, which must be called by August next year.

The budget for 2017, before the supplementary budget, came in at RM262.8 billion and Najib, who is also Finance Minister, has said that the 2018 budget deficit will be slightly lower than this year’s 3% of gross domestic product.

Economists were expecting the fiscal deficit target to be slightly below 3%.

With opposition lawmakers harping on public displeasure over rising living costs, Najib countered such sentiments ahead of the looming elections by offering bonuses to civil servants, maintaining or raising BR1M payments, and delivering targeted subsidies.

Najib is also likely to point to the strengthening of the ringgit, which rose 6% against the US dollar this year, as an indicator of the economy’s resilience. 

The Malaysian Insight brings to you live highlights of the proposed Budget 2018:

6.12pm: Najib ends his Budget speech, calling it the “Mother of all budgets” as the opposition bench erupts in shouts of “Kleptocracy! Kleptocracy!”.

6.02pm: 9,800 village chiefs to receive a RM1,500 payment, with RM1,000 to be paid out in January 2018, and RM500 before Hari Raya. 

For religious workers, a one-off payment of RM1,500 for imam, bilal, KAFA teachers, tahfiz teachers under a cumulative allocation of RM588 million.

Registered tahfiz schools will be upgraded and the buildings’ electrical wiring systems maintained by GiatMara under a RM50 million allocation. GiatMara will also introduce skills training in tahfiz schools.

6pm: For the civil service, a special “highest-ever” payment of RM1,500 each for the 1.6 million employees. The first payout of RM1,000 will be made January 2018 and the remaining RM500 before Hari Raya next year.

Similarly, for pensioners, a special payment of RM750 each, with RM500 to be paid out in January and the balance before Hari Raya.

The lowest pension rate will also be raised to RM1,000 per month, impacting more than 50,000 pensioners who have served at least 25 years.

Maternity leave for civil servants will be increased from 300 to 360 days total for the duration of their service, subject to maximum of 90 days a year.

Women civil servants in their fifth month of pregnancy and above will be allowed to leave work an hour early.

5.43pm: On the goods and services Tax (GST), all reading materials – magazines, comics, journals, periodical publications – will be zero-rated starting January 2018.

Local council services starting April 1, 2018 or October 1, 2018, will be exempted from GST.

School buildings and houses of worship funded by donations will get full relief from GST.

Imports of “big ticket items” such as aircraft and ships by airlines and shipping companies will also get GST relief.

Management and maintenance services of stratified residential buildings will not be subjected to GST.

5.45pm: Allowance for senior citizens will be raised by RM50 to RM350 a month under a RM1.7 billion allocation that will also cover the disabled and children. The allowance for disabled persons will be increased by RM50 a month.

5.35pm: On affordable housing:
* 17,300 units to be built under Project Perumahan Rakyat; 
* 25,000 units to be completed under the 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing (PPA1M) scheme;
* 3,000 units under Rumah Mesra Rakyat; and
* 21,000 units under PR1MA, which will receive a RM1.5 billion allocation over two years.

On healthcare, RM27 billion will be allocated to public healthcare, which includes RM2.5 billion for medicines and RM1.6 billion for other consumables and support.

From 2018, patients at public hospitals will pay RM10 for each consultation.

5:30pm: Employers will be allowed to hire domestic helpers from nine source countries without need of an agent.

5.23pm:  Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) will be maintained at RM1,200 each for seven million Malaysians.

On personal tax, those in the earnings bracket of RM20,001-RM70,000 will receive a 2% cut on taxable income.

On subsidies for essential items and transport, RM3.9 billion will be allocated for cooking oil, cooking gas, flour, electricity, and toll.

Toll will be abolished ar the Batu Tiga plaza in Shah Alam, Sungai Rasau in Selangor, at Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah, and the Eastern Dispersal Link in Johor, beginning January 1, 2018.

5.20pm: RM5,000 in grants for taxi drivers who buy new vehicles.

Mandatory maternity leave for the private sector will be raised from 60 to 90 days.

5.15pm: For the Chinese community, RM50 million in loans through Kojadi, RM30 million for small businesses through Yayasan Peniaga and Penjaja Kecil 1Malaysia, and RM65 million for the development of Chinese New Villages.

For the Indian community, a RM50 million development scheme for Indian entrepreneurs through the Tekun programme.

For Bumiputera students, University Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to receive a RM2.4 billion allocation and Mara to receive RM2.5 billion for scholarships at tertiary level and training.

5pm: For rural development of Sabah and Sarawak:
* RM1.1 billion for people-friendly projects such as bridges, streetlights and surau;
* RM300 million for treated water supply to three million homes;
* Remittance of “cess” charges on rubber smallholders who replanted their land with oil palm between 2010 to 2016. This is expected to benefit over 8,000 Felda settlers;
* RM164 million to build 5,000 units of homes for second generation Felda settlers; and
* RM200 million to Felda settlements to improve water supply and for road works.

4.56pm: RM4.9 billion will go towards technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

4.54pm: The National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) will extend the grace period to 12 months from the current six months for the commencing of loan repayments.

PTPTN debtors will be allowed to combine education loans from the fund to further their studies and to commence repayment upon completion of their studies.

4.50pm: Public-funded schools will receive the following allocations:
* RM250 million for national schools; and 
* RM50 million each for Chinese vernacular schools, Tamil vernacular schools, missionary schools, government-funded boarding schools, Mara science junior colleges and government-aided religious schools.

RM2.5 billion will also be allocated over a period of two years for the use of the Industrial Building System (IBS) to improve infrastructure in poor and run-down schools.

For sports, RM1 billion will go towards initiatives involving FitMalaysia, National Sports Day, athletes’ training, grassroots sports activities and national football development.

RM112 million will go to 14 sports complexes and RM20 million to the Bukit Jalil National Sports School.

4.45pm: Still on education, RM2.9 billion will be allocated for food aid, textbooks, capital grants, and smaller bursaries.

School aid of RM100 per pupil from low-income homes will continue, amounting to a RM328 million allocation.

4.43pm: On education, RM2.2 billion will be allocated for scholarships under the Public Service Department (JPA), the Health Ministry, and the Higher Education Ministry.

Book voucher assistance of RM250 will continue for each of the 1.2 million students in the country.

4.40pm: Amanah Dana Anak Malaysia 2050 will be introduced whereby RM200 will be given to each Malaysian child who invests in Amanah Saham Malaysia unit trusts from January 1, 2018.

4.35pm: To boost venture capital for businesses, RM1 billion will be allocated to institutional investors.

4.39pm: On child care, all local authorities starting with City Hall are to ensure that their office buildings are equipped with child care facilities.

4.30pm: More improvements to public transport infrastructure include:
* New central spine road project worth RM230 million to connect Raub to Bentong in Pahang and Gua Musang in Kelantan to Kampung Relong in Pahang;
* New RM5 billion highway from Banting, Selangor to Taiping, Perak, called the Lebuhraya Persisiran Pantai Barat;
* RM95 million for repairs and building of new jetties and dredging of rivers;
* RM55 million in subsidies for train services to rural areas in Tumpat and Gua Musang, Kelantan;
* Upgrades to the Penang International Airport and Langkawi International Airport;
* New airport for Mukah in Sarawak; and
* Expansion of airports in Kota Baru, Kelantan, and Sandakan, Sabah.

4.29pm: On improving public transport, the MRT3 or Circle Line is scheduled for completion in 2025, two years ahead of schedule.

RM1 billion will be allocated to the Land Public Transport Fund as working capital and for purchasing new assets such as buses.

4.26pm: To boost medical tourism, RM30 million will be allocated to the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council

To ease visa applications from expatriates, international students, and Malaysia MySecond Home applicants, the eVisa facility will be extended to these groups.

4.25pm: For palm oil, RM140 million will be allocated for development and replanting.

4.24pm: Padi farmers will benefit from a RM150 million allocation, whereby they will each receive RM200 a month for three months while waiting for harvest.

4.20pm: RM6.5 billion will be allocated to padi planters, farmers, fishermen, small orchard owners, livestock breeders and rubber tappers. Najib says this is the first time such a large allocation has been set aside for this group of agrarian workers.

Of the amount, RM2.3 billion is for fertiliser, RM500 million for infrastructure, and RM390 million for replanting.

4.18pm: Rural Bumiputera entrepreneurs will benefit from a RM80 million allocation to Skim Pembiayaan Ekonomi Desa through Bank Rakyat and SME Bank.

4.15pm: The National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (Tekun) is to receive the highest allocation ever of RM500 million.

“This allocation for Tekun is proof that the government has not forgotten micro-entrepreneurs,” says Najib.

4.10pm: On private sector investments, Najib says this is expected to exceed RM260 billion in 2018, in line with the government’s plan to make the private sector the engine of growth.

Total domestic investments are expected to rise 6.7%.

4pm: Of the RM280.2 billion, 83.5% or RM234.2 billion will go towards operating expenses – for civil service salaries and debt servicing.

The federal government aims to collect RM239.86 billion in income for 2018, Najib says.

3.59pm: Najib announces a national budget of RM280.2 billion for 2018, an increase of 5.4% from 2017’s RM260 billion budget.

3:58pm: As for income per capita, Najib says it has increased from RM27,819 in 2010 to RM40,713 now.

Income per capita is expected to hit RM42,777 by 2018, he says.

Median household income increased from RM4,585 in 2014 to RM5,288 in 2016.

3.57pm: International reserves are currently US$101.4 billion (RM430.24 billion), compared with US$21.7 billion in 1997.

“If we were not bankrupt when reserves were lowest at US$21.7 billion, then why should we be bankrupt now?” Najib says, in a dig at the opposition which has accused the government of mismanaging the economy and corruption, which it said would cause the country to go bankrupt.

3.56pm: On exports, August 2017 recorded double digit growth of more than RM80 billion, Najib says.

3.55pm: The government plans to create 3.3 million new jobs by 2020. It has so far achieved 69%, or 2.2 million new jobs.

3.52pm: A fiscal deficit of 3% of GDP is expected for 2017, down from 6.7% in 2009. Budget 2018 will target a fiscal deficit of 2.8%, Najib says.

3.48pm: Actual private investment for 2016 exceeded RM211 billion. Compared with 2009, total private investments were RM81 billion. Despite various challenges, the government was able to be fiscally disciplined and manage the country’s finances prudently.

3.45pm: Prime Minister Najib Razak says the Malaysian economy is on a growth path, with GDP growth at 5.7% in the first half of 2017. Growth for the full year is expected to be in the range of 5.2% to 5.7%. – October 27, 2017.