Terengganu budget down 25pct

 

TERENGGANU DUN | The Terengganu legislative assembly today passed its RM1.375 billion budget for 2021, which was 24.9 percent lower than the budget for the previous year.

According to Bernama, the decision was made unanimously by the state's 34 lawmakers. There are no opposition legislators in the assembly.

Despite the dramatically lower budget, the state government will still be operating in a deficit.

Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar told the House that the projected revenue for 2021 was RM1.25 billion, down from the RM1.66 billion (lower by 24.7 percent) for this year due to reduced oil prices.

"The state government consistently limits the deficit to not more than 10 percent, or RM125 million," Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar told the House.

The bulk of the state's revenue is from petroleum royalty (RM993 million or 74.6 percent) followed by non-tax revenue (RM130.64 million or 10.45 percent).

The state government will be channelling RM9.7 million to 48,500 households in the B40 group as part of its "Cakna Rakyat Terengganu" one-off cash handout programme involving RM200 per household.

Meanwhile, Samsuri said the state government had received the payment of £722,400 on Feb 26 last year for the sale of a warehouse of its fast-food business (Chicken Cottage) in the United Kingdom. The warehouse was sold to a company in the UK.

Meanwhile, when met by reporters after the state assembly sitting, Samsuri said the sale involved only one warehouse and it did not affect the operation of the fast-food business outlet belonging to the Terengganu government.

The Chicken Cottage now has 60 outlets in the UK, which are still in operation. It also has two outlets in Malaysia, namely in Kuala Terengganu (Ladang Tok Pelam) and at Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur, but they had been closed.

"The decision to sell the warehouse was made in 2017 before the (14th) general election," he added.

The Terengganu government, through its investment arm Terengganu Inc, bought a 70 percent stake in the British fast-food chain in 2012. - Mkini