Malaysia's treasury orders ministries to cut 2026 budgets over Iran war costs, document shows

Malaysia's ​treasury has ordered ‌all government ​ministries and agencies to ‌cut their operating budgets for 2026 due to the impact of ‌the Middle East conflict, according to ‌a government directive reviewed by Reuters.

The directive dated Wednesday and sent ⁠by ​Treasury Secretary-General ⁠Johan Mahmood Merican said the government's public ⁠subsidy bill was expected to ​reach 58.4 billion ringgit ($14.79 ⁠billion) this year, far surpassing the ⁠15 ​billion ringgit originally allocated under the 2026 budget.

The ⁠finance ministry did not immediately respond ⁠to ⁠a request for comment.