KUCHING, Oct 29: Sarawak will get an increased development expenditure of RM4.6 billion on top of RM20 million for food security, tourism, and environment.
In disclosing this, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the balance of development between states and regions is important to ensure that all members of ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ (Malaysia Family) are able to enjoy the development.
According to Tengku Zafrul, for the five regional economic development corridors, project development will continue with an allocation of RM690 million involving six new projects, and 66 extension project such as the Smart Agriculture project in Igan, Sarawak.
“The government is also concerned to help the State government in improving the its economic development. In this regard, a special allocation of RM260 million, which is RM20 million for each state will be provided to focus on projects involving food security, tourism, as well as the preservation and the conservation of the environment.
“Subsequently, Sabah and Sarawak will receive an increase allocation for the development expenditure to RM5.2 billion and RM4.6 billion respectively. These allocations include the implementation of water, electricity, and road infrastructure project, as well as education and health facilities,” he said when presenting Budget 2022 in Parliament, today.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said the government will be adding more mobile banks next year following the great response from the pilot project conducted in Sarawak.
He said the government effort to provide mobile banking services which started in Sarawak this year has received an encouraging response from the local community, such as in Sungai Asap in Belaga.
“The rural community came in large numbers to utilise the mobile banking service provided by Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), and this service has recently been expanded to Sabah.
“Next year, an additional 20 mobile banks are expected to start operations, covering about 250 rural areas, especially in Sarawak and Sabah,” he said. — DayakDaily
