The Malaysian government has announced six immediate measures targeting households, schoolchildren, young people and small businesses, with all the initiatives taking effect from Sept 1.

The measures, announced ahead of Merdeka Day, include expanding subsidised fuel eligibility, increasing school maintenance funds, providing free access to selected artificial intelligence applications for youths, strengthening digital healthcare, easing e-Invoice requirements and boosting microfinancing.

Under the first measure, the government will increase the monthly BUDI95 subsidised RON95 petrol eligibility from 200 litres to 300 litres, benefiting more than 16 million users.

More than 500,000 eligible owners of diesel-powered pickup trucks and four-wheel-drive vehicles will also be entitled to up to 400 litres of subsidised diesel a month under BUDI Diesel.

The government will also raise the 2027 allocation for maintenance of all types of schools by 50 percent to RM1.5 billion from RM1 billion.

The increased allocation will cover national schools, Chinese and Tamil national-type schools, religious schools, tahfiz and pondok institutions, as well as special education facilities.

The Education Ministry has been directed to assess school infrastructure at district level and review repair applications so that maintenance works can begin as early as January 2027.

For young Malaysians, the AI for the People programme will be expanded to those aged 18 to 30.

Up to 100,000 youths who complete the required modules will receive free three-month subscriptions to selected AI applications, including Malaysia’s IlmuChat, Google’s Gemini Enterprise, and China’s Wonderclip and MuleRun.

In the public healthcare sector, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will provide RM1 billion to strengthen digital capabilities, including the implementation of Electronic Medical Records and improved internet connectivity at 150 hospitals and more than 2,000 public health clinics nationwide.

The government has also raised the annual sales threshold for exemption from e-Invoicing from RM1 million to RM3 million.

As a result, businesses with annual sales of RM3 million or below will not be required to implement e-Invoicing.

To support micro and small businesses, the government will provide an additional RM1 billion in microfinancing facilities, raising the total allocation for 2026 to RM6 billion from RM5 billion.

It will also introduce the RM200 million Geran Sejahtera MADANI to support hawkers, small traders, night-market traders and mothers operating businesses from home.

The government said the measures were aimed at providing immediate assistance while expanding economic and social opportunities for Malaysians across different sectors.

All six initiatives will take effect from Sept 1.