Perak's 2025 budget has been approved by the state assembly, with 58 of the 59 assemblymen present during the sitting voting in favour.
The Supply Bill 2025 was approved after being debated by 45 assemblymen, 19 of whom were from the government bloc, over two days.
Opposition leader Razman Zakaria was not present on Thursday (Dec 5) as he has been hospitalised.
In his winding-up speech, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said there were 14,280 residential squatters identified in the state.
Of these, 7,493 squatters have been granted title rights, while the remaining 6,787 have been given Temporary Occupancy Licences (TOL) because they are located on government reserve areas such as road and river reserves where permanent title rights cannot be granted.
“Through the Zero Squatting Programme initiative, there have been renewals for LMS," he said.
“Most recently, starting this year, the authorities have implemented the reserve lease initiative on government reserve land.
This allows squatters on reserve land to apply for a reserve lease for a period between 10 and 20 years by complying with the conditions and processes specified in the reserve lease agreement," he added.
Saarani said that regarding the proposal to increase the float value of the District Disaster Fund, the state government has agreed to increase it to RM100,000 from the previous RM50,000.
“It is hoped that this move will help expedite the provision of assistance to victims, especially in districts that are often affected by disasters,” he added.
On a concern raised that the name “Program Tuisyen Cikgu Saarani” should be changed to avoid perceptions of political gain, Saarani said that the name was not his idea but a suggestion from the administration of the Mentri Besar’s office.
“However, after this matter was raised, I obtained the opinion of the state legal advisor, and he said that the name does not violate the law because it is just terminology.
“I would like to clarify that the programme is not a political tool, and the various events organised under this initiative are aimed at improving the educational excellence and development of our children.
"Its implementation is not selective; it is open to all children of Perak regardless of race, religion, or political ideology,” he added.
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 Nov 29, the Perak government tabled a RM1.52bil budget for next year, the highest in the state’s history.
Saarani said that about RM981mil will be allocated for management expenditure, while RM538mil will be for development.
