KOTA KINABALU – Sabah will seek more capital injection from the federal government to deal with environmental and flood mitigation matters in the state.
Second Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan said while the state budget was focused at looking after the welfare of Sabahans and reviving the economy, the state government will at the same time look at ways to overcome issues.
“There are already a few initiatives lined up to invest and develop the agricultural sector in Sabah,” Kitingan said, reacting to the unveiling of the Sabah 2021 budget at the state legislative Assembly, here today.
Flood mitigation has been a long-standing problem in Sabah. Penampang, Kota Belud, and Beaufort, for example, are among districts that would experience flash floods during heavy rain.
Kitingan has described Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s budget as conservative, but well thought out.
“For the ministry, we think it is a very conservative budget, but we are planning to overcome all the issues by attracting private investments.”
Kitingan who is also the state’s Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, said under the state budget, his ministry received an allocation of RM324.59 million, with an additional RM102.49 million development budget.
Under the federal government’s Budget 2021, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz allocated a RM5.1 billion development budget for Sabah.
Zafrul said the allocation is for the construction and upgrading of water and electricity infrastructure, roads, as well as health and educational facilities. – The Vibes, December 18, 2020.
