Goh Lim Thye, a senior economics lecturer at Universiti Malaya, said he was pleased to see an increase in development expenditure as opposed to operational expenditure.

“It’s a good point, and I hope it will have a multiplier effect on the economy,” said Goh. “However, I am sceptical about how we are going to finance it as Budget 2023 predicts a drop in revenue collection.”

He said the weakening ringgit would make it more expensive for Malaysia to borrow money to finance such expenditure.

A new tax incentive announced in the budget to attract foreign investors was not likely to generate strong revenue, but he hoped it would result in more employment opportunities for Malaysians.

In the 2023 budget announced today, the government has allocated RM95 billion for development, an increase of 26% over the 2022 budget. The largest development item is for maintenance and repairs of government buildings, costing RM11.4 billion.

Other items include RM562 million for the Sabo dam project, RM510 million to improve road infrastructure to Pengerang and RM500 million on G1-G4 infrastructure projects.

A sum of RM150 million was allocated for the development of border towns near Thailand and Kalimantan. Economist Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak said he was especially optimistic about the plans to develop the border towns.

“It’s refreshing and most welcome. The budget is very comprehensive and the reading was very detailed,” he said.

Both economists said the B40 (low-income families) would be pleased with the allocations for various aid schemes such as RM10 billion in welfare aid and RM2.5 billion for aid from Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia.