KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 13 -- Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin has raised concerns over the government's RM470 billion budget, questioning whether parts of it truly constitute public spending.

Hamzah pointed out that although the Budget aims for a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 4 to 4.5 per cent, just RM420.2 billion funded directly by the government, while the remaining RM50.8 billion came from government-linked investment companies (GLICs), federal statutory bodies, and companies linked to the Ministry of Finance.

"The question arises, can this RM50.8 billion truly be classified as public spending when it is not recorded in the consolidated revenue accounts and is not included in the official government debt figures?

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