KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Sabah and Sarawak will each receive an increased development expenditure allocation of RM100 million (RM0.1 billion), bringing the amounts to RM5.2 billion and RM4.6 billion respectively in Budget 2022 which was tabled in Parliament today.

Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the allocations were for the building and upgrading of water and electricity supply infrastructure, roads, and education and health facilities.

Themed "Keluarga Malaysia, Makmur Sejahtera” (A Prosperous Malaysian Family), he said that balanced development among states and regions was important to ensure that all members of the Malaysian Family could enjoy the benefits of development.

"For the five economic development corridors, the projects will continue with an allocation of RM690 million involving six new projects and 66 continuing projects such as the smart agriculture project in Igan, Sarawak.

"Next year, 20 more mobile banks are expected to operate in the rural areas and sub-districts, especially in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said when tabling the Budget 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

To assist the state governments in boosting their economic development, Tengku Zafrul said a special allocation of RM260 million, i.e. RM20 million for each state would be provided for projects geared for food security, tourism and environmental protection and conservation.

He said to boost the economic recovery efforts, the government would continue with the implementation of infrastructure development projects worth RM3.5 billion including the Pan Borneo Highway and Central Spine Road.

He added that a large portion of next year’s budget would involve rural infrastructure development, amounting to RM1.5 billion out of the RM2.5 billion to be given to the two states in Borneo.

"The government will also continue to upgrade dilapidated schools with the allocation increased to RM746 million. A substantial sum will be for such schools in Sabah with 112 projects and in Sarawak with 165 projects.

"To ensure that the rural areas, particularly in Sabah dan Sarawak, receive basic necessities like LPG and petrol at reasonable prices, the government had allocated RM200 million for the cost of transportation and distribution to the rural areas,” he said.

On access to transportation facilities for the residents of Kudat and Long Pasiah in Sabah and Ba’kelalan and Bario in Sarawak, Tengku Zafrul said a subsidy of RM209 million for air transport services would continue be given for the benefit of the local residents. — Bernama