Lim Guan Eng Urges Anwar to Accelerate Economic Reforms

Former Minister of Finance and DAP veteran Lim Guan Eng has urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to pursue further economic reforms in his Malaysia Day address on Sept 15, saying stronger measures are needed to ease cost-of-living pressures and support small businesses.

Lim said Anwar deserved recognition for several recent initiatives, including increasing the monthly Budi95 petrol subsidy quota from 200 litres to 300 litres and setting the BudiDiesel quota at 400 litres.

He also highlighted a RM500 million increase in next year’s school maintenance allocation, an additional RM200 million grant for hawkers, small traders, night-market operators and home-based businesses, as well as RM1 billion to strengthen digital capabilities in the public healthcare system.

Another initiative cited was the provision of free three-month subscriptions to artificial intelligence applications for 100,000 youths aged between 18 and 30 who complete the required modules.

Economic Reforms

Lim said the government’s decision to raise the annual sales threshold for mandatory e-Invoicing exemption from RM1 million to RM3 million would benefit about 1.1 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), although it fell short of expectations for a RM5 million threshold.

However, he said the additional RM1 billion allocated to microfinancing facilities, bringing the 2026 allocation from RM5 billion to RM6 billion, remained insufficient for the 1.2 million MSMEs facing rising costs and competition from foreign businesses.

Lim proposed six further reforms, including a one-year interest moratorium on existing MSME loans and interest-free, collateral-free loans of up to RM50,000 for MSMEs.

He also called for the abolition of the 2% EPF contributions for foreign workers, expanded and simplified foreign-worker recruitment, and a review of employing undocumented foreign workers already in Malaysia.

Other proposals included establishing a Special Taxpayers Tribunal to resolve tax disputes involving individuals and MSMEs, and increasing personal income tax relief by RM3,000 to RM12,000.

Lim said banks could help shoulder some or all costs of the proposed financing measures, noting that the banking sector recorded RM54.8 billion in profit before tax in 2025.

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