KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — The Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara sessions for the First Meeting of 2026, which ended today, saw the focus given to boosting the country’s economic resilience, fiscal management, and the government’s efforts to monitor the impact of the West Asia conflicts on the national and global economy.
The First Meeting of the Dewan Rakyat session took place from January 19 to March 3, while the Dewan Negara convened from February 19 until today.
During the session, the Dewan Negara passed the Capitation Grant Bill 2026, which amends the annual grant rates allocated to state governments based on each state's population.
Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong said the rate adjustment is aimed at providing optimal benefits, especially to less populous states with limited state revenue.
It also passed the Supplementary Supply Bill (2025) 2026 for the first additional operating expenditure for 2025, amounting to RM8.4 billion.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the entire allocation had been fully spent by 2025 without affecting the country’s fiscal deficit target, which remained at 3.8 per cent.
Although the surge in global crude oil prices provides additional revenue for Petronas through dividends and taxes, it also increases the burden of fuel subsidies as long as the targeting mechanism has not been fully implemented.
As for the ringgit’s performance, the Finance Ministry said the local note continues to be closely monitored by Bank Negara Malaysia to ensure currency value adjustments occur in an orderly manner.
In a related development, Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad said the latest tariffs imposed by the United States (US) are expected to have a minimal impact on Malaysian palm oil exports.
She said the US is not a major market for Malaysian palm oil, accounting for only 1.1 per cent of exports, compared with major markets like India, Kenya, and China, and that the impact is still manageable, as US consumption is concentrated in certain industries.
Investment, Trade, and Industry Deputy Minister Sim Tze Tzin said the 'friends-to-everyone' position had pushed the country’s trade performance beyond the RM3 trillion mark for the first time in 2025, reaching RM3.06 trillion, an increase of 6.2 per cent compared to 2024.
Although trade with Iran is small, at around RM2.45 billion, the government will continue to closely monitor the conflict in West Asia to ensure the supply chain is not significantly affected.
Economy Deputy Minister Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah said the government is evaluating concerns about cost-push inflation following the conflict, which could put pressure on global energy costs.
Meanwhile, the Investment, Trade, and Industry Ministry said the government has identified and supported the establishment of more than six local integrated circuit design companies to enable the development and ownership of local 'Made by Malaysia' technology or intellectual property.
The 'licensing certainty' commitment in the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade does not affect the government’s decision to enforce technical requirements on Lynas Malaysia or other rare earth element companies.
To ensure the continuity of transportation infrastructure development, the government has also approved a soft loan of RM135 million to complete the East Klang Valley Expressway project, which is now approximately 90 per cent complete.
The Second Meeting of the Dewan Rakyat session is scheduled to take place from June 22 to July 16, while the Dewan Negara will convene from July 20 to August 4.
