MARANG: The federal government's total expenditure for the state of Terengganu this year rose to RM7.23 billion, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the amount included the management expenses of federal agencies and development projects in the state, exceeding the RM5.99 billion allocated by the federal government to Terengganu in 2022, which was before the administration of the unity government.
At the same time, he dismissed claims that the allocation for Terengganu had been reduced or that the state had been neglected by the federal government.
"Also unprecedented is the leadership of the federal government (including) the Prime Minister, deputy prime minister, senior ministers, KSN (chief secretary to the government) and all sitting together with the state government to discuss the priorities of the states.
"This is because sometimes the priority thought in Putrajaya is not the same as the priority in the state, so we modify it after hearing (from) the state government," he said when speaking at the Cypark Merchang Solar Hybrid Power Launch Ceremony here.
However, Anwar said the priority that should be given by all parties including the state government is to eliminate hardcore poverty among the people.
In that regard, he congratulated the state government and was thankful to the machinery of the Terengganu government which has given good cooperation to the federal government so that the goal of eliminating the hardcore poverty in this state could be achieved by the end of July. — BERNAMA