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Expect a surplus State budget

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Fatimah (front, fourth right) and others at the event.

OYA: Sarawakians can expect a surplus budget for next year because of the state’s strong financial standing, said Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.

She was commenting on the State 2021 Budget, which will be tabled by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg during the State Legislative Assemblyman sitting in Kuching next week.

Fatimah, who is also Dalat assemblywoman, said Sarawak would not table a deficit budget because it has a healthy reserve.

“Sarawak’s revenue is stable, more so following the imposition of the state sales tax (SST) of five percent on oil and gas products,” she said when officiating at the ‘Program Sepakat@Komuniti Pembudayaan Norma Baharu: Putuskan Rantaian Covid-19’  at Kampung Senau community hall here yesterday (Nov 7).

She said that for last year, the revenue from SST was RM3 billion, of which RM2.9 billion was from Petronas and the balance from Shell and Murphy oil and gas companies.

“The chief minister will reveal more when he tables the budget next week,” she said.

On the 2021 Budget tabled by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz in Parliament on Friday, she commended the federal government for allocating RM1 billion to curb the third wave of Covid-19 infections.

Fatimah said the allocation would be used, among others, to provide facilities and equipment such as hand sanitisers, face masks, and personal protective equipment for frontliners.

On the programme, it featured talks on current issues delivered by speakers from the relevant agencies.

At the event, she also handed a cheque amounting to RM5,000 to the management committee of Surau Darul An Nur, Kampung Senau Hilir to help repair the exterior part of the building.

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