KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat today passed the 2025 Supply Bill (Budget 2025) at the policy stage with a majority voice vote.
The voice vote was called for by Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Ramli Mohd Nor after Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Dr Amir Hamzah Azizan, completed his winding-up speech on the bill.
Ramli then proceeded to announce that the bill had been passed.
The 2025 Budget will now proceed to its second reading to be debated at the committee level, before being presented in Dewan Negara.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tabled the 2025 Budget on Oct 18, with a total allocation of RM421 billion.
Among the initiatives announced in the latest budget include various cash aid such as RM600 for single Malaysians, increasing the minimum wage from RM1,500 to RM1,700 a month and RM150 million for local authorities to clean drains to tackle flash floods in affected areas.
The largest allocation in 2025 Budget was set aside for the Education Ministry - the biggest recorded in Malaysian history.
The ministry will receive RM64.1bil, or 15.2 per cent of the budget's total allocation.
There will also be subsidy adjustments aimed at correcting the imbalance of blanket subsidies that benefit the extremely wealthy, the elite and foreign individuals.
RON95 subsidies will be maintained for the majority of the population, as demonstrated in the targeted electricity subsidy, where 85 percent of the population remains unaffected.