PUTRAJAYA, Oct 12 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today expressed the highest appreciation for the sacrifices made by the Treasury team, which he described as extraordinary and dedicated, in preparing the national 2024 Budget, as well as the economic report and fiscal outlook.
“Alhamdulillah, I would like to express my gratitude for the extraordinary dedication shown by the Treasury team.
“Some of them didn’t even go home, some postponed their plans to visit an ailing father or celebrate a child’s birthday. That’s the sacrifices they had to make to finish the reports.
“All those reports will not be successfully done without the hard work and cooperation from the entire Treasury machinery, including the security team,” said Anwar, who is also finance minister, after checking out the final 2024 Budget preparations at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) here today.
Anwar arrived at the MoF at 12.50pm and was welcomed by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, the two Deputy Ministers of Finance Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan and Steven Sim Chee Keong, as well as Treasury secretary-general Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican.
Anwar also posed for a group picture with the MoF personnel involved in the Budget 2024 preparations before signing the top secret document which will be tabled at Parliament tomorrow.
Prior to this, Anwar reportedly said that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education would continue to receive the largest allocations in the 2024 Budget.
When asked if the 2024 Budget would bring joy to the people, Anwar said: “This is our collective responsibility.” — Bernama
