KUALA LUMPUR: The three primary beneficiaries of Budget 2025 are the Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Health (MoH), and Ministry of Defence (Mindef), collectively accounting for 31% of the RM421 billion allocation to support economic growth and enhance public welfare.

The highest beneficiaries are MoH and MoE, particularly for operating hospitals and schools.

According to the Fiscal Outlook and Federal Government Revenue Estimate report, an allocation of RM16.3 billion will be provided as grants to statutory bodies to partially fund operational expenses such as emoluments and supplies and services.

Twenty public universities and nine teaching hospitals are the major beneficiaries, accounting for 61.8% of the total allocation.

Additionally, RM9.3 billion will be provided as grants to state governments for various development projects, including infrastructure, education and healthcare.

The education and training subsector received RM15 billion to enhance educational institutions, improve ICT infrastructure, and bridge the rural-urban gap.

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Allocation will also be used to upgrade LAN infrastructure for 1,528 agencies under the MoE.

Further, the earmarked allocation will be used to implement smart classrooms in 400 selected institutions, build 46 new schools, and refurbish 122 dilapidated schools, primarily in Sabah and Sarawak.

In Budget 2025, the government allocated RM12.3 billion to the security sector for Mindef, divided between defence (RM8.2 billion) and internal security (RM4.1 billion).

These will be used to upgrade military assets and security equipment, improve the living conditions of security personnel with new quarters and refurbished training centres, and reintroduce the National Service Training Programme (PLKN).

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For the MoE, the government has allocated

RM6.9 billion has been allocated for the health subsector. This includes building new clinics in rural areas and repairing and upgrading dilapidated clinics.

Under the public service initiatives, the government, in Budget 2025, has allocated RM3.8 billion for general administration, improving ICT systems in government departments, and refurbishing and maintaining government buildings.

Under housing, RM2.3 billion has been allocated for the housing subsector, including developing Perumahan Inklusif Madani, building PR1MA Mini Township in Teluk Intan, Perak, developing Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) Seberang Perai, Pulau Pinang and PPR Kampung Linggi, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan and implementing Rumah Mesra Rakyat (RMR) project in Sabah and Sarawak.