JOHOR BARU: The Johor State Assembly today approved a RM1.73 billion budget for next year.
The state budget, which would have a surplus of RM2.44 million, was debated for seven days at the 56-member assembly.
Speaker Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi announced that the budget was approved unanimously.
The budget, with the theme "Maju Johor: Prosperity Together with the People" was tabled by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi on Dec 1, with projected revenue of RM1.734 billion as against RM1.731 billion in expenses.
The last time Johor recorded a budget surplus was in 2020 which saw a surfeit of RM2.36 million.
Johor saw surplus budgets for nine preceding years before 2020.
The allocation in the budget also entailed a sum of RM69.51 million for operational expenditure and
RM1.662 billion was development expenditure.
The development expenditure involves emoluments of RM559.54 million, services and supplies (RM316.73 million), assets (RM27.86 million), grants and fixed payments (RM209.37 million) as well as other expenses (RM13.24 million)."
Onn Hafiz also said that the Johor economy was now reinvigorated after suffering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said this could be seen in how the state continued to perform encouragingly despite facing pressures of economic uncertainty.
"The momentum of Johor's economic progress is contributed by four factors which are crucial to Johor's stable political conditions.
"It also sticks to its investor-friendly policy that was formulated to ensure it (Johor) remains the destination of choice for investors. The re-opening of the border between Johor and Singapore on April 1 has also contributed to this achievement.
"The enhancement of the public delivery system and the development of human capital are also an impetus for Johor's increasingly vibrant economy.
"Overall, I'd like to say that Johor's economy is booming again in this phase of post-Covid-19 economic recovery," he said while drawing on the state's achievements despite the war in Ukraine, climate change and inflation triggered by the strengthening US Dollar."