Anwar clears Malaysia budget vote after Muhyiddin agrees to back government
Malaysia’s 2027 budget passed its first voting stage after former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin signed a support agreement with Anwar Ibrahim’s government.
Malaysia’s Parliament passed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s 2027 budget at its policy stage on 29 October, hours after former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin signed an agreement to support the government on the budget and key reforms. The deal gave Anwar additional parliamentary backing as he faced a vote treated as a test of confidence in his administration.
Speaker Johari Abdul declared the budget passed by a voice vote after Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan concluded the debate. No opposition lawmaker called for a recorded division, The Straits Times reported, so the vote produced no tally of MPs for and against. The South China Morning Post put the spending plan at 459.8 billion ringgit (US$111 billion).
What Muhyiddin agreed to support
The Straits Times reported that Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof signed the confidence and supply agreement for the government with Muhyiddin, 11 other lawmakers from his Bersatu party and Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman of the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance, or MUDA. Its account also described the deal as involving 12 MPs, although those named total 13. The South China Morning Post described Muhyiddin as joining 12 other lawmakers.
Muhyiddin told reporters that Bersatu MPs would back the budget and reforms including a two-term limit for the prime minister and a separation of the attorney-general’s and public prosecutor’s roles, according to The Straits Times. He said Bersatu would continue to check the government. The newspaper reported that MUDA would support the administration on the same matters.
The lawmakers secured annual constituency funding of between RM3 million and RM4 million each, matching government backbenchers’ allocations, The Straits Times reported. It said the agreement brought the government’s reported support to 147 of Parliament’s 222 MPs. That support figure describes the government’s position after the deal, rather than a count from the budget vote.
Why the budget vote mattered
The vote followed Barisan Nasional victories over Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan coalition in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections, with a Melaka poll scheduled for 14 November. Malaysia’s next general election must be held by February 2028, The Straits Times reported. Muhyiddin’s commitment concerns parliamentary support; he said Bersatu would remain an opposition check on the government.
The Straits Times said the East Malaysian coalitions Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, with 30 MPs combined, remained important to Anwar’s majority. The budget allocates RM18.7 billion to Sabah and RM16.2 billion to Sarawak. Under the parliamentary convention described by the newspaper, failure to pass a supply bill would require a prime minister to resign or advise the King to dissolve Parliament and call an election.
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Sources and context
- Anwar’s ex-rival backs Malaysia’s budget. Will Muhyiddin become PM’s election partner?South China Morning Post
- Malaysia’s Anwar survives budget test after securing support from former rival BersatuThe Straits Times
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.