KOTA KINABALU – Sabah is taking every advantage of the fact that Indonesia is moving its capital to Kalimantan by developing four new towns at the Sabah-Indonesia borders.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor said that Sabah Budget 2022 has allocated RM2 million for four new town development projects in Kalabakan, Bum-Bum, Merotai and Sg Melayu Sebatik under the Housing and Urban Development Authority.
“The state government is working with the federal government to plan the provision of basic infrastructures such as roads and Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security complexes connecting Tawau, Kalabakan, and Simanggaris, Indonesia,” he said.
He said it is also part of the allocation for the state’s urban development involving a total of RM131.11 million allocated to the state Local Government and Housing Ministry.
The allocation also includes several new projects such as the Kinarut Town Market Building project, Beluran Town Two-Storey Building project, Melalap Tenom Weekly Tamu Ground project, Pitas District Council Community Market Building project and Kudat Town Board Office Building project.
Hajiji tabled a RM4.6 billion state budget with a surplus of RM110.68 million today.
For rural development, a total of RM210.66 million was allocated for the state’s Rural Development Ministry for 2022, for the implementation of poverty eradication programmes.
“Basic facilities in rural areas will continue to be given attention. The state Rural Development Ministry will continue to implement the Alternative Rural Electricity Supply Programme and Alternative Rural Water Supply.
“To help the poor and the hardcore poor, the state government will increase the distribution of houses next year under Program Rumah Sejahtera Rakyat Sabah,” he said.
Meanwhile, to empower and appreciate the outstanding contribution of women in Sabah, the budget has set aside RM17.61 million for women’s development programmes.
The allocation includes RM11.8 million for Yayasan Usaha Maju for operating expenses and micro-credit facilities for women, and RM5.81 million to the Sabah Women's Affairs Department for human capital development programmes.
A new initiative is also introduced specifically for wives or female heads of households registered with e-Kasih named the Baiduri initiative (Inisiatif Bantuan e-Kasih Dana Caruman i-Suri).
It provides an initial one-off Employee Provident Fund contribution of RM60 per person to women in the targeted e-Kasih category. This assistance will be supported through additional special incentives of RM480 per person from the federal government. The implementation of Baiduri will benefit 45,134 women involving an allocation of RM2.7 million next year.
The budget also allocates RM95.89 million to the Sabah Youth and Sports Ministry to implement youth development initiatives, especially in reskilling and upskilling.
This allocation also includes RM52.02 million for sports development, including for infrastructure and facilities.
Furthermore, the budget allocates RM134.12 million to the Community Development and People’s Well-being Ministry to improve rakyat welfare and to support those in need. Another RM127.06 million goes to the state Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry for its technology adoption programmes.
A total of RM164.12 million was also allocated for the implementation of religious programmes next year, and it will be given to relevant government agencies, religious and educational bodies covering all religions and races in the state.
Meanwhile, Sabah Budget 2022 also allocated a total of RM227.4 million to the state’s tourism sector. From this amount, RM131.93 million is allocated to the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry as well as its departments and agencies.
The state government is also allocating RM8.08 million to launch the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), which will produce integrated data on the tourism sector.
“The TSA will be able to measure and determine domestic and international tourist spending and the tourism industry’s contribution to the state’s GDP, including employment data.
“Other than benefiting state agencies and industry players, this comprehensive data is crucial to formulate an approach to ensure that state revenue can be optimised in the tourism sector,” Hajiji said. –The Vibes, December 3, 2021
