KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — Budget 2023 will be presented again before the end of this year, said caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said Budget 2023 must be debated and approved in the Dewan Rakyat so that the essence of the federal budget can be implemented.

"We have announced the budget. We want to give the people several goodies but the budget (Budget 2023) has yet to be approved,” he said in his speech at a meet and greet programme with Risda and Felcra smallholders at Arena Merdeka here today

Ismail Sabri gave his commitment to implement all the initiatives in Budget 2023 if he continues to be given the mandate as prime minister in the 15th general election (GE15).

"If someone else takes over, I can’t guarantee what have been promised. There is a difference between the budget presented not approved and the manifesto which is a promise.

"When the Budget is presented, it means funds are available. That’s the difference. The money is already there, just waiting for approval to be implemented,” he said.

Last Oct 7, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz presented Budget 2023 which involved an allocation of RM372.3 billion.

However, it has not been approved or debated in the Dewan Rakyat following the dissolution of the Parliament on Oct 10 after Ismail Sabri received the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.— Bernama