Malaysia's Budget 2027 will shelve the GST-SST merger floated in the pre-budget statement, leaving it "under study" past the October tabling.
TrueJudged 13 November 2026
Budget 2027, tabled on 9 October, left SST in place and did not carry the GST and SST merger that Anwar floated in August. The Finance Ministry study ordered then had no deadline. On 29 October Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan told the Dewan Rakyat, citing the Prime Minister, that reintroducing GST is not an option until incomes and living costs improve, and that SST will keep being refined. The merger was shelved, and ministers have gone further than leaving it under study.
GST's unpopularity helped sink the Najib government at the 2018 election, and Prime Minister Anwar's coalition is already bleeding support after losing consecutive state elections. With a federal election due by February 2028, reviving a politically toxic tax label now is too risky, even if it would raise revenue.
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