GOMBAK, April 11 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today ruled out any possibility of raising taxes as a way to increase funding for education, as he addressed university students who sought Putrajaya’s affirmation to commit to public education reform.

Anwar instead said public universities must be "creative” in finding ways to finance themselves.

The Anwar government is reportedly mulling an income-based system that would charge richer families more for tuition fees, although when it plans to roll it out remains unclear.

"In this country public universities almost entirely depend on government funding, and the government means taxpayers,” he said in response to a student from an International Islamic University student who asked if the government could increase assistance for the public tertiary education system.

"The government means your parents and your families have to pay more, and I’m not prepared to raise taxes for them because it would make it more difficult for them.”

The Anwar administration allocated RM64.1 billion to the Ministry of Education under Budget 2025, the highest allocation in the sector’s history.

Anwar said the record allocation underscored his pledge to beef up human capital as Malaysia aims to join the list of high-income countries.

Much of the funding will be used for projects like upgrading and maintaining schools, building new schools, providing support for students from low-income families, and strengthening teacher training programmes.

At the same time Anwar vowed to reduce the fiscal deficit even as he dismissed raising tax as an option to increase revenue.

Analysts said raising taxes now will be politically unpopular, particularly when Anwar is already planning to roll back blanket petrol subsidies that consumers have enjoyed for decades.