GEORGE TOWN, Oct 20 — The Madani Budget 2025 tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday prioritises the needs of the people even with the current challenging global economic situation, Penang PKR state leadership council chairman Nurul Izzah Anwar said.

She added that welfare issues were a priority and the government was doing its best to raise allocations to ensure that the public development agenda could be met.

"Although (the budget) can’t possibly meet our idealism but in terms of steps taken to fulfil people’s needs like minimum wage, job opportunities, including safety net programmes or social security, these do add up to a huge total.

"Therefore, the budget needs to be matched with reformation planning. For instance, the Anak Kita programme under the Education Ministry (MOE), where over 3,000 schools throughout Malaysia have collaborated with civil society organisations so that curriculum, issues about neglected students during the pandemic can be handled well,” she told reporters in response to allegations that the Budget 2025 did not put emphasise equally on education as development, after attending an item distribution programme at Little India near Lebuh Pasar here. in conjunction with the upcoming Deepavali celebrations.

She also pointed out that focus was given to raising the quality of education, especially in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to nurture more students who would not just pass but excel and are competitive.

The PKR vice-president also noted that the government was prioritising the health sector, and there were efforts to raise expenditure not only in terms of treatment but also prevention, including raising the sugar tax to tackle public health issues.

Three ministries — the Education Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Defence Ministry, are the main recipients of the Budget 2025, collectively received 31 per cent of the overall total. — Bernama