PKR Youth chief Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim has warned that spending beyond approved allocations is inappropriate and could weaken the country’s financial position.
“How can the money be enough when spending exceeds the allocations that have been set? We are living beyond our means. This is how a country is ruined,” Kamil, who is also the political secretary to the finance minister, said in a Facebook post yesterday.
He was responding to remarks by Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Johan Mahmood Merican, who revealed that the Rural and Regional Development Ministry had repeatedly exceeded its approved allocations for rural road projects over several years.
Johan said the ministry spent RM1.8 billion in 2023, despite receiving an approved allocation of RM1.1 billion.
The following year, actual spending rose to RM2 billion against an allocation of RM1.3 billion.
Overspending continued in 2025, when expenditure reached RM2.3 billion compared with the approved allocation of RM1.6 billion.
For 2026, the ministry was allocated RM2.1 billion, but actual expenditure had already reached RM1.9 billion by June.
Johan said the Finance Ministry was working with the Rural and Regional Development Ministry to address the issue, including by reprioritising its allocations.
Kamil’s warning comes amid increased scrutiny over government spending and whether ministries are keeping expenditure within approved limits.
