COMMENT | “Honour is not measured by wealth, but by the courage and resolve with which one fulfils duty to the homeland,” Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim quoted Pericles on budget day.

But, for the unprecedented inclusion of government-linked investment companies (GLICs), some federal statutory bodies, public-private partnerships and Minister of Finance Inc (MOF) companies in the budget, spending would have contracted by over seven percent.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, got creative with the budget, including RM50.8 billion in investments by the GLICs and others into the spending, to make the budget RM470 billion, four percent over the previous year’s RM452 billion.

Exclude that RM50.8 billion, and the figure drops to RM419.2 billion. On a proper and fair comparison, the budget...