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The Prime Minister’s Department’s (PMD) ballooning budget is being slashed for the first time since the 2012 Budget, and is among the worst hit by the budget cuts.

Under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s 2017 Budget proposal tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today, the PMD is to receive an allocation of RM15.9 billion, compared with the RM20.3 billion it was allocated under the 2016 Budget.

The reduction of RM4.4 billion (or 21.5 percent) is the largest budget cut under the 2017 Budget by the amount reduced, and the third largest by the proportion reduced.