KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government will start designing Budget 2027 next month ahead of its tabling in early October.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, said the budget would be based on the principle that economic growth must translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives, rather than being measured solely by stronger economic indicators.
“The economy is a means, not an end in itself. Its purpose is not merely to produce higher numbers, greater consumption, or larger concentration of wealth, but to enable people to live with dignity, security, purpose and hope.
“It means asking before every major decision, whether growth widens opportunity or narrows it, whether it strengthens families and the communities or leaves them more vulnerable, and whether it treats human beings as partners in development or merely as instruments of production,” he said in his keynote address at the Humane Economy Global Discourse (HEGD) 2026 here today.
The prime minister said that Budget 2027, together with growth, economic policies, semiconductor strategy, energy transition and digital transformation, cannot ignore the moral purpose of governance and development.
He stressed that prosperity should translate into better wages, meaningful work, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, quality education, thriving communities and genuine social mobility.
Anwar also said that sustainability means not passing environmental, financial and social burdens onto future generations, while innovation should expand human capabilities rather than deepen exclusion.
