KUALA TERENGGANU – The Terengganu state assembly unanimously passed the 2021 state budget today.
Winding up the debate on the budget, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said the state government, after considering current factors and long-term projections, chose not to increase its expenditure but to implement a priority-based budget.
“This is why the state government consistently limits the deficit to not more than 10%, or RM125 million,” he said.
He had tabled the 2021 state budget, themed “Sustaining Shared Prosperity”, which involved a total allocation of RM1.375 billion, compared with RM1.832 billion for last year’s budget.
Touching on the Covid-19 special initiatives, involving RM34.32 million, announced during the tabling of the budget, Ahmad Samsuri said it was in support of Budget 2021 tabled by the federal government to meet the needs of those impacted by the pandemic.
The initiatives include a one-off “Cakna Rakyat Terengganu” cash aid of RM200 for 48,500 households in the B40 group, involving an allocation of RM9.7 million.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Samsuri said the state government had received a payment of £722,400 (RM3.9 million) on February 26 last year for the sale of a warehouse of its Chicken Cottage fast food business in the United Kingdom. The warehouse was sold to a company in the UK.
Met by reporters after the state assembly sitting, Ahmad Samsuri said the sale involved only one warehouse and it did not affect operations of the fast food business outlet belonging to the Terengganu government.
Chicken Cottage now has 60 outlets in the UK 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 have been closed.
“The decision to sell the warehouse was made in 2017 before the 14th general election,” he added. – Bernama, November 25, 2020
