KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 —Pakatan Harapan (PH) offered a consolidation of several ministries with overlapping duties to tighten federal spending in its alternative Budget 2018 unveiled today.

However, the federal Opposition pact said civil servants whose ministries were deemed redundant would not lose their jobs as the move would only be a reorganisation to better manage common resources and assets.

"We believe Malaysia has too many ministries, resulting in redundant, overlapping duties among them.

"Hence concerted reorganisation and management reforms are imperative in an effort to reduce the number of ministries in a Pakatan Harapan government,” the alliance of four parties said.

PH said that the reorganisation would also encompass the sharing of assets and resources among ministries, such as officers properties and common equipment, in an effort to eliminate overlapping and underutilised resources.

"For example, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities does not require a separate building of its own; idle officers may be redeployed and each department need not have its own set of support staff,” PH said, adding that it expects to save RM5 billion for the rationalisation effort.

It also promised to not succumb to "political patronage” or pursue an expanded Cabinet, merely to appease "vested interests”.