KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin has questioned the proposed government-linked investment companies (GLICs) and government-linked companies' (GLCs) investments under Budget 2027 that could compromise their core mandates.
Pointing out to the Retirement Fund (Incorporated), or KWAP, Hamzah questioned the projected returns on a planned RM750 million investment into university student accommodation as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the Budget 2027 last Friday.
Hamzah argued that KWAP priority should be growing the retirement fund to support future pension payments.
“KWAP’s purpose is to grow the money to help pay pensions in the future to those who are eligible. So why is KWAP being asked to build student accommodation? Where are the returns?” he told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday when debating the Budget 2027.
Hamzah also called for a whole-of-government approach that clearly distinguished the responsibilities of ministries, departments and other public institutions, rather than conflating their roles. Hamzah warned that excessive demands on government-linked entities could weaken their ability to deliver long-term benefits, invoking the story of the goose that laid golden eggs.
“I want to remind everyone of the story of the goose that laid golden eggs. Its owner could not wait for one egg a day, so he slaughtered the goose to take all the gold at once. In the end, the owner lost out,” he said. “Ultimately, future generations will face greater difficulties than those we face today.”
Under Budget 2027, KWAP was asked to invest RM750 million through Projek Vista Kampus to develop student residences at six selected universities, including Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin and Universiti Teknologi Mara. The government and KWAP will also establish a RM50 million UniVC fund to commercialise university research and attract private investment into locally developed innovations.
Separately, KWAP also needs to allocate up to RM1 billion to the semiconductor sector.
Its other commitments include RM1.5 billion through Dana Pemacu, RM1 billion through Dana Iklim+ and RM200 million through Dana Perintis.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, presented a RM510 billion headline package for Budget 2027 last Friday, comprising RM459.8 billion in federal expenditure and RM50.2 billion in additional investments. The additional commitments comprise RM25 billion from GLICs, RM11 billion in public-private investments, and RM14.2 billion from federal statutory bodies and Minister of Finance Incorporated companies.
Hamzah, meanwhile, urged the government to focus more on generating wealth and developing domestic resources to address the country’s debt burden.
“We need to move from thinking only about distributing allocations to thinking about creating value,” he said. “We should focus on generating the resources to service our debts, which have grown so large, rather than looking solely at the budget deficit.”