Bersama’s shadow budget for 2027 breaks the cycle of the usual short-term financial firefighting patching over structural cracks with temporary cash handouts.

In it, former economy minister Rafizi Ramli and Bersama’s economics lead Sum Dek Joe present a pragmatic, 10-year path to a balanced budget and a “generational new deal”.

The economic foundations project 2026 gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 5.2% with a fiscal deficit of 3.5% of GDP and federal debt at 64.9% of GDP and economic growth at 4.0-5.0% for next year.

Importantly, it aims to reduce the fiscal deficit to 1.8% and federal debt to 56.4% of GDP by 2031 and achieve a federal budget surplus by 2035. For a conservative like me this is music to my ears.