Extra funds for poorer states under 12MP mid-term review: Rafizi

ALOR STAR – More funding will be allotted to poorer states under the mid-term review of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) to help reduce the income gap between states, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said today.

“We do not want the gap between the poor and rich states to widen. So more attention should be given to those who need help.

“The help to be rendered would be based on real needs. There are no political elements, but those who need help should be aided by us,” he said at a press conference after an engagement session for the midterm review of the 12MP with the Kedah government at the Kedah Royal Club here.

States that would receive more funds include Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, Sabah and Sarawak, he added.

Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis are governed by the federal opposition, Perikatan Nasional.

The 12MP runs from 2021 to 2025, and its mid-term review is to be tabled by the government in Parliament in September as part of assessing the effectiveness of the country’s development master plan.

Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and state executive councillors such as senior councillor Datuk Wira Ku Abdul Rahman Ku Ismail, as well as all 15 district officers with senior state officials, were present at the mid-term review for the state with Rafizi earlier today.

For Kedah, Rafizi outlined three major ventures, including developing its southern region’s potential as an industrial hub.

The federal government has poured in over RM1 billion into developing the manufacturing sector in southern Kedah.

The second area is to boost Kedah’s role in becoming a major food contributor for local food supply by diversifying farming produce, while the third is to raise the state’s rice yield to five times in two years, in line with national agricultural policy.

This will also go towards reducing the country’s food import bill, Rafizi said.

Sanusi, meanwhile, said today that Kedah produced 43% of rice supply in the country, while its industrial and services sectors are the top contributors to the state’s gross domestic product.

He also said Kedah has 56,000 padi farmers who need assistance from the authorities in terms of allocations and price controls for fertilisers and pesticides.

Other proposals from Kedah to the federal government include a revival of the proposed Kulim Aerotropolis mega project to construct a regional cargo airport in Sidam Kiri and to grow aviation and aerospace industries to supplement the airport’s operations.

Rafizi said he noted these proposals but added that the federal government also has development priorities that ought to be fulfilled first.

As to other states being reviewed for the mid-term assessment, Rafizi said Penang and Kelantan are the remaining ones being looked at. – The Vibes, July 9, 2023