KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has directed the optimisation of resources including staffing needs at representative offices and agencies abroad.
He said this followed the Public Services Department Awam (JPA) and Wisma Putra identifying 64 out of 126 offices abroad that were not operating under one roof.
"Therefore, the government has decided to move their operations to the Chancery Office or will merge them with nearby offices to save costs and optimise resources," he said when tabling the Madani Budget 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday (Oct 18).
He said there are often excesses involving departments, agencies, and government companies that are quite outstanding but the funds being spent are the people's funds.
He said that this is the reason that the government cancelled a trip of 68 officials to an exhibition in Berlin, Germany recently, adding that although its value might be considered small, it would be significant if used for the benefit of Anwar said the government will also review all vacant spaces and buildings owned by government agencies, government-linked investment companies (GLICs), and government-linked companies (GLCs) so that these unused resources can be utilised for preschool, daycare and skills training centres.
He said among other efforts to utilise government resources, part of the revenue from the sale of special licence plates would be channelled to help the underprivileged.
He said this includes covering the cost of obtaining motorcycle licences for 15,000 underprivileged youths including secondary school students, university students as well as young people looking for jobs.
He said providing assistance for the purchase of flight tickets for 60,000 underprivileged students, especially from Sabah and Sarawak, to return to their hometowns, and distributing free helmets to 67,000 underprivileged families for the safety of their children will be done.
Meanwhile, Anwar said Budget 2025 remains committed to natural treasures with the Ecological Fiscal Transfer (EFT) fund increased to RM250mil compared to RM200mil to support state efforts in protecting forests and wildlife.
The criteria for the distribution of the EFT have been revised, with 50 per cent of the allocated funds now subject to the performance of state government spending, compared to the current 30 per cent, he also said.
"The role of the Orang Asli and uniformed veterans in protecting the permanent forests is highly valued. The government has increased the appointment of community rangers to 2,500 people instead of 2,000 people with an allocation of RM80mil," he added.- Bernama
