100% increase in special grants will boost East Malaysia, says Fadillah

 

Fadillah Yusof said the increase in the grant to Sarawak was proof of the federal government’s intention to ensure the state’s welfare.

KUALA LUMPUR: 

The special grant for Sabah and Sarawak, doubled to RM600 million each in the federal budget, will be a great boost to close the development gap between East and West Malaysia, says deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof.

He said the increase in the grant to Sarawak in particular was proof of the government’s intention to ensure the state’s welfare.

For this year, we raised the special grant amount to RM300 million for both states, up from RM16 million previously (for Sarawak) and RM125.6 million (for Sabah). From 2025, the government plans to raise the special grant to to RM600 million each for Sarawak and Sabah,

 he said at a press conference after the budget was tabled today.

Fadillah, who is also energy transition and water transformation minister, said the government’s allocation of RM4.95 billion to develop the energy and water sector was crucial in view of climate change.

He said the impact of climate change on Malaysia has become even more apparent with the frequency of extreme weather and floods.

Fellow deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said about 8.1 million Malaysians in rural areas stand to benefit from the RM11.96 billion allocated to his rural and regional development ministry.

Zahid said the allocation was an increase of RM405.27 million over this year’s budget. - FMT