KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Putrajaya’s coffers are depleting after the government allocated more than RM600 billion for Budget 2021 and other stimulus packages to help Malaysians weather the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the government had spent large amounts of money last year and this year due to the virus, adding the stimulus packages for the national budget totalled RM340 billion, while RM322 billion was set aside for the national budget.
“I went to school, but I am not good at calculation... how much it adds up... it's more than RM600 billion – that’s a big sum of money,” Muhyiddin said during a Vaisakhi celebration event with the Sikh community in Petaling Jaya this afternoon, as quoted by Malaysiakini.
“What I am trying to say here is that we don’t have much money left.”
However, Muhyiddin said although the government did not have as much funds as it did before, its priority was to ensure the lives and livelihoods of Malaysians can be better managed with the amount allocated last year and this year.
Despite the government’s current financial state, Muhyiddin still pledged RM3 million for all 120 gurdwaras, or Sikh temples of worship, around the country.
This is a slight increase from RM2.18 million allocated in 2020, according to MalaysiaKini.
The prime minister also pledged an additional RM1 million for the Malaysian Gurdwara Council’s proposed community centre. – The Vibes, April 12, 2021