KUALA LUMPUR: The increase in allocations for the development of Sabah and Sarawak in the 2024 Budget shows the Federal Government's commitment to improving infrastructure facilities in the two states, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
He said the increased amount also reflected that the development and improvement of infrastructure in Sabah and Sarawak was given focus in next year's Budget.
"Being aware of the country's challenging financial position, definitely, the increase given, we should be happy (with it) because it reflects the commitment of the Federal Government under the Unity Government to help and give a commitment to focus on improving the infrastructure of Sabah and Sarawak.
"We know that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong himself came to look at the situation in Sabah and Sarawak through the 'Kembara Borneo' programme and His Majesty had actually given a report to the Prime Minister about the people's complaints.
"His Majesty told Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that Sabah and Sarawak should be given more allocations after finding that the infrastructure in these states is far behind compared to those in the Peninsula," he said when appearing as a guest on the 'Ruang Bicara' programme broadcast on Bernama TV last night (October 18).
Commenting further, Fadillah, who is also the Plantation and Commodities Minister, said that the provisions would certainly help accelerate infrastructure development in the two states.
"But no matter what, we are currently focusing on good governance, even though the allocation is there if it is not spent prudently, effectively and efficiently, it will not have an impact.
"That's why we have to make sure that the government machinery as the implementing agency will be able to carry out the work as quickly as possible and as well as possible so that whatever work is left out, that needs to be carried out, can be done immediately," he said.
Meanwhile, the Petra Jaya MP said that through the 2024 Budget, the government had agreed that any projects under RM50 million should be handed over to technical agencies in Sabah and Sarawak, in line with negotiations with regard to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
"With this step, we can also reduce bureaucracy and speed up any project that is not too complex, because projects under RM50 million can usually be carried out by our implementing agencies," he said.
When tabling the Malaysia Madani 2024 Budget at the Dewan Rakyat on Friday (October 13), Anwar announced that the allocation for development purposes in Sarawak would be increased from RM5.6 billion to RM5.8 billion while in Sabah, it would be increased from RM6.5 billion to RM6.6 billion. – Bernama