Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced a limit to the government’s annual promotion and publicity spending not to exceed RM100 million per annum starting next year.
Media campaigns promoting events and big-ticket activities hosted by the government will be strictly controlled in terms of advertising spend. As for questions about the Madani media campaign, Anwar said the campaign currently being promoted is from the budget allocated by the previous administration.
The advertising industry in Malaysia has often relied on Government A&P campaigns to mitigate downtime periods when private slowed down, especially during an economic downturn. Malaysia’s ADEX spent in 2022 is around RM6 billion whereas the government spends in the region of RM200-300 million every year.
The change in policy by Anwar will surely impact the industry and will be a cause of concern for advertising agencies depending heavily on government campaigns.
