Round-the-clock breaking news from Malaysia.
The Malaysian government has commenced Phase 3 disbursements of the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah cash assistance to 5.3 million recipients, representing a significant expansion of the welfare safety net designed to address cost-of-living pressures facing households nationwide.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has pledged that the MADANI Government will distribute education funding fairly across all streams, including Islamic institutions, Chinese and Tamil schools, while promoting national harmony in Malaysia's plural society.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has underscored the government's significant financial commitment to fuel subsidies, disclosing that Malaysia allocates between RM40 billion and RM45 billion annually to protect consumers from rising petrol and diesel costs.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim disclosed that the federal government must contribute RM980 million yearly to cover accumulated losses at the Federal Land Development Authority, a legacy of earlier administrative failures.
Malaysia has saved nearly RM5 billion through expenditure control measures implemented across government agencies since April 2026, Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong told the Senate, while maintaining essential public services.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has reassured Malaysians that hosting a Formula 1 race would not require substantial new government spending, with costs limited to the RM16 million already allocated for Sepang International Circuit upkeep.
Malaysia's Ministry of Economy has spent RM1.214 billion of its RM2.115 billion development allocation by mid-July, outpacing the national average. Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah aims for top-three performance ranking by year-end.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid has underscored the government's commitment to improving welfare, housing and education for Malaysian Armed Forces personnel and their families, allocating RM844 million to construct 1,300 new military housing units.
Malaysia's Domestic Trade Ministry will review a parliamentary committee's recommendations on cooking oil subsidies, focusing on expanding a digital tracking system to prevent subsidy misuse and limit foreign access to subsidised supplies.
The government has allocated RM238.64 million to the MADANI Rahmah Sales Programme through July, processing over 21 million transactions and holding 17,000 events nationwide. Officials aim to expand to 30,000 programmes by year-end.
Malaysia's Public Accounts Committee has called for sweeping reforms to the cooking oil subsidy scheme, recommending a 60,000 metric tonne monthly quota reduction and stricter controls to prevent fund leakage.
The government's SARA cashless assistance programme has achieved 99% utilisation among nearly nine million Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah recipients, driving RM3.45 billion in local market transactions this year as living costs remain elevated.
Malaysia's 2026 fiscal deficit is projected at 3.6 per cent of GDP, marginally above the government's 3.5 per cent target, as stronger revenue collection and spending prioritisation help offset a RM25 billion increase in fuel subsidies.
The Malaysian government has greenlit 46 development initiatives worth RM207 million aimed at stimulating economic activity in the Pasir Puteh parliamentary constituency, capitalising on proximity to the East Coast Rail Link corridor.
The Desa Tun Razak People's Housing Project has completed its RM9.6 million upgrade, becoming one of 22 finished projects out of 61 planned improvements across Kuala Lumpur's public housing estates.
In High Court testimony, Tengku Zafrul has stated that Muhyiddin Yassin, the former Prime Minister, did not meddle in the Jana Wibawa programme's project allocation process.