LETTER | Austerity, but smarter: Why Malaysia needs a chief savings officer

LETTER | The austerity drive of Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan, should go beyond blanket cuts.

Besides current measures, we should consider a chief savings officer (CSO) across ministries and agencies to identify waste, duplication, and procurement leakages, without compromising public services or subsidy goals.

New York City offers useful inspiration: under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a CSO-led model reportedly identified US$1.77 bilion (RM7.5 billion) in savings across FY2026-2027, helping address a projected US$12 billion budget gap.

Around US$514 million came directly from cutting waste, reducing overtime, improving contracts, and streamlining operations.

New York’s lesson is also how savings were achieved. It wasn’t austerity alone: it combined support from the state government in Albany with new revenue from taxing luxury assets and high-income tax benefits, while agencies were pushed to scrutinise budgets, reduce unnecessary overtime, improve contracts, and cut waste.

Despite inheriting a budget gap larger than during the Great Recession, the aim wasn’t just deficit reduction. Savings were reinvested into affordability: universal childcare, cheaper groceries, safer streets, trash containerisation, while strengthening libraries, parks, and cultural institutions.

Better spending, not just less spending.

CHARLES SANTIAGO is a former Klang MP.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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