By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 19: The federal government should consider expanding personal income tax relief under Budget 2027 to address the real concerns and reduce the actual cost pressures faced by M40 or middle-income households, said Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Kuching branch acting secretary and youth chief Nicholas Wung Duk Ying.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s indication that Budget 2027 would include measures to ease the burden on the M40 group was a welcome direction, but stressed that the measures must be practical and targeted enough to make a meaningful difference to household finances.
Wung said many M40 households were often perceived as financially comfortable, but in reality continued to face rising housing and car loan repayments, children’s education and childcare costs, medical and insurance expenses, transport costs and daily living expenses.
“Many M40 families may appear stable on paper, but they still have to manage their monthly expenses carefully.
“They have income, responsibilities and commitments, but often do not qualify for most cash aid or subsidies,” he said in a statement today.
He said the M40 group represented an important segment of the economy, comprising workers, professionals, small traders, young families and small and medium enterprise (SME) operators.
Wung said Budget 2027 should therefore go beyond one-off assistance and introduce targeted measures covering taxation, childcare, education, housing, healthcare, transport and business costs.
Among the measures proposed was an expansion of personal income tax relief for expenses including children’s education, childcare, parents’ medical needs, insurance, skills training and digital devices.
He said such measures could provide more direct and sustained relief to middle-income families while recognising the financial commitments they faced.
“Based on our grassroots engagement, young M40 families are most concerned about housing loans, childcare fees, children’s education, food expenses, transport costs and supporting their parents,” he said.
Wung said many young professionals, teachers, engineers, healthcare workers and small business operators in Kuching fell within the M40 category but continued to experience significant financial pressure.
He also urged the federal government to ensure that M40 policies took into account regional differences in living costs, rather than being based primarily on conditions in Peninsular Malaysia.
He said Sarawak’s vast geography, higher logistics costs and reliance on air travel for education, employment, medical treatment and family matters created additional financial pressures for middle-income households in the State.
“If policies only look at income figures without considering regional costs, they will not be truly fair,” he said.
Wung called on the Finance Ministry to study an East Malaysia-focused middle-income relief mechanism under Budget 2027, particularly for transport, logistics and household expenses.
He added that small traders and SME operators in the M40 group were also grappling with higher rental, labour, raw material, electricity and other operating costs.
To support them, he proposed measures such as tax incentives, low-interest financing, digital transformation grants and business training to help businesses remain competitive.
“The Prime Minister’s focus on the M40 group is a positive signal. What matters now is that the government listens to families, youths, traders, professionals and local communities before finalising the measures,” he said.
Wung said Budget 2027 would be more meaningful if it could address the genuine concerns of the M40 group, ease household financial pressures and give more middle-income families greater confidence in the future. — DayakDaily
