KUCHING, Oct 29: Describing Budget 2022 as “people-centric”, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah holds that it covers the most important aspects to initiate recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Federal government had allocated a good sum of funds towards rejuvenating our local economy, including tourism which was one of the contributors to our economy prior to the outbreak of the pandemic.
“The RM600 million allocation for the tourism sector under PENJANA tourism financing and BPMB Rehabilitation Scheme are much welcomed by industry players.
“Hence it will contribute towards the recovery rate to the desired level. The waiver of tax for those in tourism related events and activities will encourage more visibility at the international-level,” said Abdul Karim, who is also Asajaya assemblyman in a statement today.
He added that the RM60 million allocation for the promotion of domestic tourism also gave Sarawak local players hope of a faster rate of recovery.
Meanwhile, Tupong assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman praised the Federal government’s Malaysian Family Student Device initiative to supply a tablet to every B40 student in higher learning institutions.
“The government has also provided an allocation of RM450 million in addition to the commitment of telecommunication companies which also contributed about RM65 million for this purpose.
“This initiative will benefit a total of 600,000 students from B40 families and solve the problem of lack of access to devices among the less fortunate for the purpose of following Teaching and Learning at Home (PdPR),” said Fazzrudin in a statement in response to Budget 2022.
He hoped that with this initiative, it will solve the problem of a ‘lost learning generation’ which consists of the B40 group which is now increasing due to a lack of access to devices and internet access.
He also welcomed the provision of a discount on the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans to borrowers from Nov 1, 2021 to April 30, 2022.
“With this initiative, a 15 per cent discount will be given on the outstanding balance for full settlement of the loan; while a 12 per cent discount is given to borrowers who have settled at least 50 per cent of the loan and a 10 per cent discount to borrowers who pay through salary deduction or direct debit according to schedule,” said Fazzrudin. — DayakDaily
