2023 Budget: Anwar heads to Parliament

PUTRAJAYA - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, clad in a baby blue baju Melayu, leaves the Finance Ministry at 3.07pm headed towards the Parliament to retable the 2023 Budget.

The Finance Minister participated in a prayer led by finance ministry islamic affairs officer Mohamad Zukrillah Ismail at the treasury main lobby.

The retabling of the 2023 Budget represented Anwar's second appearance after 26 years when he last held the Finance Minister position in 1997.

When asked by reporters about how he felt Anwar said he hoped to fulfill his responsibilities.

"I will fulfill my responsibilities as best as I can," he said.

Also accompanying Anwar to the Parliament were his deputies Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan and Steven Sim Chee Keong.

Anwar held a black file containing the document for the 2023 Budget.

The 2023 Budget was tabled by the Finance Minister at the time Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz on Oct 7, 2022, with the highest allocation in history totaling RM372.3 billion.

However, it was not debated as the 9th prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of Parliament effective Oct 10, to pave the way for the 15th General Election (GE15).