Malaysia just recovered RM15.5 billion in stolen money. Here’s what we could’ve done with it

So, Belanjawan 2026 was just announced. And while some of us were busy scrolling through TikTok trying to see if we qualify for those new income tax exemptions, PMX dropped a jaw-dropping figure in his speech.

He revealed that over the past two years, the government managed to recover RM15.5 billion in rampasan (seizures) and kutipan penalti (penalties), a.k.a. money that had been previously lost to corruption, mismanagement, or leakages.

That’s RM 1 5 , 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 .

To put it in perspective, that’s not just “a lot of money.” That’s nation-changing money.  Literally, it’s theGDP of the entire nation of Bhutan.

And this wasn’t from a single case or some random lucky windfall. This was the result of a nationwide effort from the likes of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), Customs Department (JKDN), Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC), and more.

But what does RM 15.5 billion actually mean for us? After making our calculators cry, we calculated what that money could’ve done if it hadn’t gone poof.

1. We could build 100 new hospitals, AND still had money left to pay doctors

In 2024, Kuala Pilah got a new specialist hospital worth RM150 million. 

With RM15 billion, we could’ve built 100 new hospitals nationwide, from Kangar to Kudat, and still had RM500 million left to pay the doctors running them.

That’s 100 places where people could’ve healed faster, instead of waiting months for treatment or driving three districts just to see a specialist.

2. We could make 37,000 doctors permanent, AND still had funds for nurses

In 2023, the government spent RM1.7 billion to make 4,300 contract doctors permanent.With RM15 billion, we could’ve made 37,000 doctors permanent, and still have pocket change to give each one a RM10,000 bonus. That’s 37,000 doctors who wouldn’t need to refresh their contract status like they’re tracking Shopee deliveries.

And with RM500 million leftover, we could’ve paid over 1,300 nurses for 10 years straight, based on JobStreet’s average nurse salary of RM3,000.

That’s a decade of night shifts, injections, and gentle scoldings about your cholesterol levels.

3. We could triple the country’s transport projects

Belanjawan 2026 included:

That’s RM5.2 billion in total, meaning RM15.5 billion could’ve funded all of that three times over. Or y’know, pay for more highways in Sabah and Sawarak.

4. We could build 180 schools, AND hire enough teachers to fill them

In 2023, the government set aside RM560 million to build seven new schoolsin Selangor, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak.

With RM15 billion, we could’ve built around 180 new schools across the country, and still had RM500 million left to hire teachers or finally fix the ceiling fan that’s been wobbling since 1998.

Back in 2019,RM48 million was used to hire 21,000 substitute teachersto cover shortages. Adjust that to RM50 million for 20,000 teachers today, and that leftover RM500 million could’ve hired 200,000 teachers.

That’s enough manpower to give every class a dedicated teacher, or at least stop Cikgu Salmah from marking exam papers during her maternity leave.

The good news is, some of this is already happening

According to Unit Pantau MADANI (the Ministry of Finance’s new monitoring arm), funds are already being channelled into real development and social welfare programs. In fact, new schools are actually in the picture!

In Belanjawan 2026, RM2 billion has been allocated to build 38 new schools and repair 520 dilapidated ones, with a focus on Sabah and Sarawak. This comes on top of the 1,177 dilapidated schools that were being upgraded between 2023 and 2025.

On the social side, Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) and Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) are getting a huge boost too. In 2026, an extra RM2 billion is being pumped into these programs. This raises the total allocation to RM15 billion, up from RM13 billion in 2025, and reaching roughly 9 million recipients. It’s a good bump that’ll give more Malaysians breathing room, and ease the load for families hit hardest by living costs.

But more than just boosting budgets into social welfare program, PMX was clear that this wasn’t money collected from the rakyat, or gathered from new taxes. It was money we already had – we just had to stop it from leaking out.

And remember, RM15.5 billion is just what we got back

RM15.5 billion is only what was recovered in the past two years. So, imagine how much more never came home, lost to undeclared luxury assets, unpaid import duties, and tax evasion schemes that somehow ended up as bungalows, yachts, and watches more expensive than your Myvi.

And that might just be the tip of the iceberg. If this is what we’ve recovered recently, imagine how much more was quietly siphoned off in the decades before.

That’s why in 2026, the government is stepping it up and investing RM 700 million to upgrade enforcement agencies, train officers, and equip them with the tools they need to fight financial funny business.

And to make sure that leak gets plugged tighter than your pants after a Deepavali open house, here’s what else they’re doing:

So while RM15.5 billion may sound like a big number, the bigger story is what it represents: A government that’s trying to fix the pipe, instead of just mopping the floor.

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