Anwar Announces Measures to Ease Malaysia's Rising Living Costs

Malaysia's government will restore higher monthly quotas for subsidised fuel and expand support for schools, small traders and young people's access to artificial intelligence tools, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a televised address.

The measures are expected to take effect on September 1. Malaysian citizens will again be allowed to buy up to 300 litres of RON95 transport fuel per month, after the quota was cut to 200 litres earlier this year. The government also plans to raise the diesel quota for certain user categories to 400 litres a month.

Anwar said the package would include more funding for school maintenance, digital health systems and micro-financing facilities for small businesses. The government will also raise the annual revenue threshold below which companies are exempt from implementing electronic invoicing to 3 million ringgit.

A government artificial intelligence programme will give Malaysians aged 18 to 30 free access to several applications, including Google's Gemini Enterprise and Alibaba Cloud's Wonderclip and MuleRun. Anwar also said money seized or forfeited through anti-corruption legal proceedings would be directed to government programmes, particularly in education and healthcare.

The announcements follow pressure on Anwar to respond to higher living costs. Malaysia's economy grew 6% in the second quarter, exceeding official projections and outperforming most regional peers. But critics have accused his coalition of failing to deliver promised reforms and mishandling high-profile corruption cases. The coalition has lost three consecutive regional elections in recent months.