PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government is committed to consistently reducing the country's fiscal deficit to ensure a more sustainable economy and to maintain investor confidence.

Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said the fiscal deficit was at 5.5% when he assumed leadership in 2022.

It was reduced to 4.1% in 2024, with a projection of 3.8% for this year.

"Some people ask why we want to reduce the deficit so much. Why not just give more to the people? But if we don’t do it this way, investor confidence will not be there.

"For me, the foremost responsibility of leadership and economic management is to implement policies that we believe are good - that is what matters most.

"Secondly, with investor confidence, we can solve many issues related to national revenue, job opportunities, and overall development,” he said at the Finance Ministry’s monthly assembly here on Friday (June 20). - Bernama