KOTA KINABALU, Oct 7 — Budget 2023 is consistent with the federal government’s commitment to ensuring no one is left out of mainstream development, said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said the Sabah government welcomes the inclusive budget, which saw an increase of 20.45 per cent in allocations for Sabah next year to RM6.3 billion, compared to RM5.2 billion allocated in this year’s budget.
“Sabah welcomes the federal government’s commitment to continue emphasising on the state’s development,” he said in a statement after watching the live telecast of the tabling of the budget at Menara Kinabalu here today.
Also present were Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, and Assistant Ministers in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Abidin Madingkir and Datuk Wetrom Bahanda
The RM372.3 billion budget, themed ‘Keluarga Malaysia, Makmur Bersama’ (Malaysian Family, Prospering Together), was tabled by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz in the Dewan Rakyat.
Hajiji said the state government welcomed the federal government’s commitment to ensure Sabah’s security with upgrades at Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) Lahad Datu as well as provision of additional security assets and the construction of a field hospital next year.
The chief minister also thanked the federal government for allocations for the Pan Borneo Highway project in Sabah, expected to be completed in 2024, and the development of border towns, including the construction of the road connecting Kalabakan to Simanggaris in Indonesia.
“Sabah also welcomes the federal government’s commitment to helping ease the hardship of the people that can be seen through the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) involving more than RM10 billion next year. I also welcome the electricity subsidy of up to RM40 to households in the e-kaseh list,” he said.
He said the RM1.2 billion allocation to repair dilapidated schools that included 123 projects in Sabah, as well as another RM430 million to build five new schools nationwide including Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Nabalu in Kiulu, Sabah, next year, is vital for education development.
“Sabah also welcomes the various initiatives in the tourism sector, which hopefully would help increase the sector’s revenue in the state next year,” he said, adding that the budget keeps up the momentum of the nation’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
