He said it was time for the rich to contribute more to the nation’s growth, adding that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had said it would be immoral to tax the poor.

“So in the same vein, I argue that it is time for the government to impose a wealth tax on the rich – the multimillionaires, the billionaires – so that wealth does not remain concentrated among just a handful of people.”

Hassan cited data showing Malaysia had 85,126 millionaires in 2022, each worth at least US$1 million or about RM4.2 million, with the number expected to almost double to 164,839 by 2027.

He said the proposed wealth tax would help improve national finances without burdening lower-income groups.

In June, former Klang MP Charles Santiago said a 2% wealth tax would raise around 60% more than the RM5 billion in revenue the government hoped to obtain from its expansion of the sales and service tax (SST).

Hassan was commenting on deputy domestic trade and cost of living minister Fuziah Salleh saying that the government would become “very unpopular” if it raised taxes on the top 10% of the nation’s richest people and redistributed the wealth to the rest of the population.

Speaking at the BBC World Questions debate, Fuziah had said that while the distribution of wealth should be more equitable and efficient, the government had to tread carefully in doing so.

Hassan also expressed concern over the country’s shrinking development budget, which is set to decline from RM96 billion in 2023 to RM83 billion in 2026, and urged the government to review its spending priorities.

He said the federal debt had reached RM1.3 trillion, or 64.7% of gross domestic product, and questioned the need to keep borrowing for development.

Hassan also called for an explanation from the finance and economy ministries on why Petronas’s dividend would fall from RM40 billion last year to RM20 billion in 2026.

“We must ask what problems Petronas is facing and how this drop affects national income,” he said.