Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced a one-time payment of 100 ringgit (24 USD) to all senior citizens as part of a package of measures aimed at mitigating the impact of the rising cost of living, Al Jazeera reports.
In a televised address, the politician said that 22 million Malaysians will receive assistance.
The prime minister also said that the government will reduce the price of subsidized gasoline and freeze the planned increase in tolls on 10 highways.
Experts believe that all these initiatives are necessary to support domestic demand, but they create additional pressure on the country's budget and could prevent the government from achieving its goal of reducing the budget deficit to 3% of GDP by 2028