KOTA KINABALU: Rural development will remain the priority for the Federal Government in Sabah going into the National Budget 2025, says Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The Chief Minister said he expected Sabah to continue receiving allocation earmarked for rural development when the Budget is tabled this Friday (Oct 18).
"I have been made to understand that under the Budget 2025, rural development will continue to receive allocation to narrow the gap between rural and urban areas as well as to improve basic amenities, particularly for dilapidated schools and clinics Sabah,” he said, on Tuesday (Oct 15).
"For this purpose, the focus would be on ensuring full access to basic utilities, particularly roads, clean treated water, and electricity supply.
“The government will also continue to enhance the people's well-being, ranging from social security provision for people across the board, employment with better salaries and measures as well policies that will see a fair distribution of the nation's wealth,” Hajiji added.
The Chief Minister said this during the State Development Action Council meeting at Menara Kinabalu here.
He noted the government was optimistic that the National Budget would bring Malaysia closer to realising the Madani Economy with cooperation from all Malaysians.
He said the Budget was a long-term framework for Malaysia's economy aimed at increasing the country's economic ceiling potential and the people's livelihood quality in line with the theme "Ekonomi Madani, Negara Makmur, Rakyat Sejahtera."
Hajiji also called upon all the agencies and departments in the state to evaluate their respective performance for the past three quarters of this year.
"Agencies and departments in Sabah must be able to explore opportunities to improve the performance of the state development projects," he said.
He reiterated that federal development projects such as schools and clinics can be implemented without waiting for the land title to be issued as long as the land has been gazetted for the purpose.
"If lands are needed to build schools and clinics, the state government will facilitate to avoid any delay in the implementation of the projects," he said.
The participation and cooperation between the state government and federal agencies in Sabah also needed to be strengthened to ensure the smooth implementation of projects, Hajiji added.
