KUCHING:
Batu Kitang Assemblyman, Lo Khere Chiang when commenting on the 2017
Budget said it was well presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul
Razak with poise and diligence.
“The
2017 Budget saw a slight increase from the 2016 Budget indicating a growth in
our economy amidst a drop in world oil prices which also affects our country’s
revenue.
“Our
Prime Minister’s budget is very people oriented judging by the increase in
allocations for village roads, street lightings, flood mitigation projects, new
hospitals and schools,” said Lo when interviewed via text messaging.
He
added that doctors’ salaries have also been increased which means that the
government is improving medical and health care for the people.
“The
best doctors will be retained in government hospitals to look after our people
which means that our people do not have to pay high medical fees in order to be
seen by good doctors.
“Even Chinese and Tamil schools are receiving
increased allocations in the 2017 Budget. It’s very liberal of Najib’s
administration to acknowledge the high quality of education provided by these
schools and the economic and social contributions of both Chinese and Tamil
schools in the country,” he said.
Lo
who is also chairman of Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) said that the only
reservation he has is that there is no mention of how much Sarawak will get.
“It’s a sensitive issue for the Prime Minister
but I hope that Sarawak and Sabah will be given a bigger portion of the
allocation for street lightings, water supply projects, village roads and
drainage as Sarawak lags far behind Peninsular Malaysia in these areas of
infrastructure development,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kedup Assemblyman, Martin Ben
commented that for housing, it benefits first time buyers, low income and
five-year rental for the newly employed.
“The
new housing budget is specifically to address the sky high property market. For
the BR1M, it will certainly help the targeted groups in the rural areas,” he
said.
By : Desmond Markus
Sarawak Tribune
Date Posted : Sunday 23-Oct-2016
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