Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has rejected claims that the federal government is overly reliant on Petronas dividends, saying the national oil company’s annual payout contributes only a small portion of the country’s overall revenue.
In a written reply in Parliament, Anwar, who also serves as Finance Minister, said the RM20 billion dividend paid by Petronas this year represents only 5% to 6% of the federal government’s projected revenue for 2026.
He explained that Putrajaya expects to collect RM343.1 billion in total revenue this year, comprising RM270.4 billion from taxes and RM72.7 billion from non-tax sources, with the Petronas dividend forming part of the latter.
“The federal government’s main source of revenue is tax collection, which accounts for about 70% of total revenue, while Petronas dividends contribute only around 5% to 6%. This clearly shows that the government is not overly dependent on Petronas’ performance,” he said.
Anwar was responding to a parliamentary question from Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN–Pasir Mas), who asked whether the government had become too dependent on Petronas after the company’s dividend was reduced from RM40 billion in 2023 to RM20 billion this year.
The Prime Minister said the government remains committed to reducing its reliance on petroleum-related income due to the volatility of global crude oil prices and the long-term need to diversify national revenue sources.
According to Anwar, petroleum-related revenue accounted for 41.3% of total federal revenue at its peak in 2009. However, following a series of fiscal reforms introduced since 2023, the contribution has steadily declined from 28% in 2022 to 17.5% in 2025, with a further reduction to 12.5% projected for 2026.
He said the figures demonstrate the government’s ongoing efforts to build a more sustainable and resilient fiscal position by broadening revenue sources beyond the petroleum sector.
