KUCHING, Nov 7: Minister of Transport Datuk Lee Kim Shin will pursue allocations for riverine transportation, premium mode public transport including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and development of airports for Sarawak which were not mentioned in the proposed National Budget 2021.
Welcoming the good budget proposals for the transportation sector in the National Budget 2021 tabled in Parliament yesterday (Nov 6), Lee however observed that there was no allocation mentioned in the budget for the development of riverine transport which was very important socially and economically in Sarawak.
Under the Economic Resilience Strategy: Development Agenda under the 12th Malaysia Plan, Measure 1: Under the Transport Infrastructure Development, he added that there was also no mention of the development of premium mode public transport in Sarawak, including BRT.
“There is also no mention of the allocation for the development of airports, especially on upgrading and expansion works as our airports such as in Kuching and Miri are already exceeding the design capacity.
“We will highlight these matters to the Federal Ministry of Transport especially to the Minister and Deputy Minister,” he said in a statement today.
Noting that RM150 million would be allocated for the Stage Bus Service Transformation Programme (SBST) in Kangar, Seremban, Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu and will be expanded to Johor Bahru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Kuantan, Lee hopes that Kuching will get a fair share of allocation to successfully implement the programme next year.
“This has been a long outstanding issue which was approved in previous years’ budgets but not implemented,” he said.
On the sales tax exemption for the purchase of locally assembled buses including air conditioner will be extended for a two-year period starting from Jan 1, 2021, until Dec 3, 2022 Lee commended that it was a good move.
“This is good for our proposal to purchase more buses including energy-efficient buses for the Stage Bus Service in the state,” he added.
Meanwhile, in tabling the National Budget 2021 yesterday (Nov 6), Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz revealed that the government had proposed the largest spending plan in the nation’s history, hoping to pave the road back from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The main goal of the budget, he said, was to improve the well-being of the people and business community and the country’s economic resilience.
The government has allocated RM322.5 billion for next year, with RM236.5 billion for operating expenditure and RM69 billion for development expenditure as well as RM17 billion under the COVID-19 Fund.— DayakDaily
