Since 2008 Penang has experienced fiscal surpluses in its financial account; it achieved as large a sum as RM61.7mil in fiscal surpluses, or 0.1% of Penang’s GDP in 2017 (Figure 1).
In the last five years or so, the state has been prudently managing its finances despite the annual threat of projected budget deficit. The state’s actual public expenditure turned out to be lower than its estimated expenditure since 2011. This also shows that the state government is mindful of what it spends on. For example, the actual public expenditure for 2017 was recorded at RM1bil; this is about 55% lower than the projected public expenditure.
