SARAWAK’S 2019 Budget will give new hopes and open Sarawak to a better socio-economic direction, new ways of doing things as well as a new way of life, said 30-year-old IT technician Syed Hashimie Sayed.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg on Monday tabled a record state budget of RM11.9 billion for next year with an expected surplus of RM122 million. “This is a very good budget, without deficit… spend within our means, that is a wise financial principle,” he said when met by Bernama here yesterday.
Hashimie said the development expenditure which comprised 76 per cent of the total budget would open up opportunities and generate jobs, which augurs well with the aspirations of today’s youths who needed jobs.
On the RM6.05 billion to be spent for rural clean water supply, roads and bridges and electricity, Hashimie said the rural folks had been waiting for so long for these basic amenities.
“With those basic facilities and utilities, only then we can say that some economic justice has been done and given to our long economically-struggling rural folks in the longhouses and villages,” he said.
Meanwhile, automotive technician Andrew Reolan Obun, 27, said the rural development allocation would also help to improve the quality of living especially in education and make it easier for people in rural areas to send their children to school. – Bernama
