By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Oct 14: Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performance Arts Sarawak (MTCP) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah welcomes the unity government’s Special Interim Grants of RM300 million for Sarawak and Sabah.
Abdul Karim said the grant’s amount is a big leap compared to the previous grants, which were RM16 million for Sarawak and 125.6 million for Sabah.
He stressed, however, that what is most important is how to manage and utilise the funds appropriately.
“Budget funding is important. For MTCP, as long as it goes to upgrading the facilities and elevating the State’s tourism sector to a higher level, that is what we want.
“The same goes for budget funding contribution given to Sarawak. The federal government can give us a big contribution, but if we cannot spend it, there is no point,” he said at the Padawan Raft Safari 2023 press conference at Serapi Hotel Satok today.
Abdul Karim said this when asked to comment on the Budget 2024, which Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tabled yesterday (Oct 13).
“The methodology of budget spending is based on activities by the ministries, and if the budget cannot be utilised, it is brought forward to the following year,” he said. — DayakDaily
