Selangor pumps in RM1b for development in record budget

by **Cals** Tue 19 Nov 2013, 17:50

Business & Markets 2013

Written by Meena Lakshana, fz.com (contributor to theedgemalaysia.com)

Tuesday, 19 November 2013 16:11

Last Updated: 4:01pm, Nov 19, 2013

SHAH ALAM (Nov 19): The Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor government today tabled the largest budget the state has seen since 1998 at RM1.85 billion, with the highest allocation for development since the federal opposition coalition took over the state.

The state government has allocated a whopping RM1.024 billion for development expenditure in total.

Announcing the state's Budget 2014, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said today 33.78% of the balanced budget of RM1.85 billion, or RM624.91 million will be allocated towards development.

"Out of this, 62.2% or RM388 million will be allocated for the infrastructure sector, followed by RM143.18 million or 22.91% for social purposes and 14.47% or RM90.401 million for the economic sector," he said at the state assembly sitting.

"A total of RM1.2 billon or 66.2% of the budget will be allocated towards management expenditures," said Abdul Khalid.

The balanced budget consists of revenue from the state collected from tax and non-tax collections as well as non-revenue sources.

However, the state will, for the first time, allocate RM430 million from the state reserves for six development initiatives, namely the third Klang bridge, affordable housing, construction of schools, entrepreneurship, rural development and empowerment of women, rounding the total development allocation to RM1.024 billion.

In last year's budget of RM1.63 billion, only RM633 million was allocated for development. About RM500 million of the state reserves was to be used for development, but the state government had never utilised the funds.

The Pakatan Backbenchers Club had recently intervened into the state's Budget after it was alleged that Abdul Khalid intended to allocate a decreased amount of the state reserve's towards development.

The BBC had submitted the memorandum after a briefing by the state financial officer revealed that the state government plans to slash the development expenditure of RM600 million by RM100 million.

At a press conference later, Abdul Khalid said the state reserves stood at the highest it has ever been at RM2.71 billion, several folds above the operational costs of the state government at RM1.1 billion.

"None of the reserves was used last year. We indicated that we may want to utilise the RM500 million but we didn't," he said.

"That is why our reserves increased from RM2.5 billion to RM2.7 billion," he added.

He said, however, the RM430 million was not allocated from the reserves to placate the Pakatan Rakyat Backbenchers Club who had criticised Abdul Khalid for holding on too tightly to the state's purse strings.

"No, we planned it," he said.

The breakdown of Selangor's Budget 2014 of RM1.85 billion is as follows:

*RM1.2 billion for management expenditure which includes services and supplies, emoluments and assets.
*RM624.92 million for development which covers:

- Infrastructure: RM 33.73 million

- Social services: RM 143.182 million

- Economy: RM90.401 million

- Town and Country Planning: RM2.608 million; Local councils: RM2.2 million, Solid Waste Management in Pulau Ketam: RM408,000.

Infrastructure:

-Public Facilities: RM357.27 million

-Science, Technology and Innovation: RM22.96 million

-Housing: RM8.5 million

Social services:

-Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor (State government programmes including 20 cubic metre free water programme): RM77.85 million

- Education: RM26.3 million

- Human resource: RM8.68 million

- Sports: RM8 million

- New villages: RM 5 million

- Youth: Rm3.5 million

- Others: RM13.85 million.

Economy:

- Finance: RM51.6 million

- Agriculture: RM17.48 million

- Entrepreneurship development: RM7.85 million

- Tourism: RM5.4 million

- Environment: RM3.65 million

- Research and Development: RM2.8 million

- Investment: RM1.6 million

*RM430 million from reserves which covers:

- RM150 million for Third Klang Bridge.

- RM100 million for affordable housing

- RM50 million for construction of schools

- RM50 million for entrepreneurship and youth empowerment

- RM50 million for rural development

- RM30 million for women empowerment

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