IPOH, Dec 5 — The Perak State Legislative Assembly today unanimously approved the state Budget 2025, tabled by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad last Friday.
The Supply Bill 2025 was passed after all 58 out of 59 assemblymen present during the sitting voted in favour of it.
Opposition leader Razman Zakaria was absent as he has been hospitalised for two days.
The Bill was debated by 45 assemblymen, including 19 from the government bloc, over two days.
In his winding-up speech, Saarani said the state government had identified 14,280 residential squatters across the state, granting permanent titles to 7,493 under the Zero Squatter Programme.
“Meanwhile, the remaining 6,787 squatters have been granted temporary occupancy licences as they are located in government reserve areas where permanent titles cannot be issued,” he said.
Saarani also said the Lumut Maritime Industrial City (LuMIC) project, covering seven locations in the Manjung and Bagan Datuk districts, is currently undergoing a feasibility study.
“This study is being conducted together with Port of Antwerp-Bruges International, which has experience in developing world-class ports,” he said.
Saarani further announced that the state government had agreed to increase the district disaster fund’s float value from RM50,000 to RM100,000 to provide better support for disaster victims.
He addressed allegations raised by Gunung Semanggol assemblyman Razman Zakaria, who claimed that plantation operators in the Bukit Merah Reservoir Reserve were being mistreated by the state government.
“The Kerian District Office issued three notices to the operators to vacate the 81-hectare water catchment reserve area between July and August, but these notices were ignored.
“The authorities had no choice but to clear oil palm trees covering 50 to 80 acres as the area needs to be developed for flood mitigation dams to address flooding issues affecting hundreds of people,” he said.
Saarani also announced a two-month management allowance bonus for all 59 state assemblymen’s service centres, with a one-off payment of RM14,000.
On concerns raised about the name “Program Tuisyen Cikgu Saarani” being perceived as a self-promotion effort, Saarani clarified that the name was suggested by the Menteri Besar’s office administration, not himself.
He said he had consulted the state legal advisor, who confirmed that the name does not violate any laws.
“However, I would like to clarify that the programme is not a political tool. The various events organised under this initiative aim to improve the educational excellence and development of our children.
“Its implementation is not selective and is open to all children of Perak, regardless of race, religion, or political ideology,” he said.
On November 29, Saarani tabled the state’s largest-ever Budget of RM1.52 billion for 2025, prioritising initiatives under the Perak Sejahtera 2030 development plan.
The Budget allocates RM538 million for development and RM982 million for operating expenditure.
Saarani said the Budget aligns with the theme “Perak Makmur, Rakyat Sejahtera” and focuses on the people’s wellbeing, governance of state-owned projects, environmental sustainability, human capital and youth development, and food security.
