RM332.1 billion allocated for Budget 2022, the highest so far
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz when presenting the 2022 Budget at the Parliament Building today.
29/10/2021 05:35 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 -- The allocation for Budget 2022 is RM332.1 billion, the largest on record for the country, with focus on reviving every socio-economic segment in the country.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said of the total, RM233.5 billion would be for operating expenditure, RM75.6 billion for development expenditure and RM23 billion for the COVID-19 Fund.
A total of RM2 billion would be for contingency savings, he said when tabling Budget 2022, themed “Keluarga Malaysia, Makmur Sejahtera” (A Prosperous Malaysian Family).
Tengku Zafrul said taking into account the aspirations, dreams and needs of members of the Malaysian Family members, as well as the expected increase in government revenue for next year of RM234 billion, the government would continue to provide an expansionary budget.
"Although this is an expansionary budget, the 2022 fiscal deficit is projected to be reduced to six per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) compared to 6.5 percent in 2021," he said.
This is the first budget tabled under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the first since the 12th Malaysian Plan (12MP) was launched last Sept 27.
Tengku Zafrul said Budget 2022, which was drafted after 80 engagement sessions with parliamentary members across all political doctrines, is anchored on a three-pronged strategy, namely boosting recovery, building resilience and driving reform.
He said like Budget 2021, which involved an allocation of RM322.5 billion, Budget 2022 also focused on three key areas, namely prosperous people, resilient businesses and a prosperous and sustainable economy.
"The 2022 Budget which is aligned to the 12MP was formulated as a continuation of the previous economic and stimulus packages and improved, as well as complemented with new efforts to form an inclusive, sustainable and balanced budget," he added.
-- BERNAMA
Budget 2022: Additional RM4 billion to fight COVID-19
29/10/2021 05:48 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 – The government is providing an additional RM4 billion, specifically to the Ministry of Health (MOH), to continue the agenda to address COVID-19 as the fight against the pandemic is still not over.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the amount included RM2 billion for vaccination programmes to fund vaccination programs and the remaining to increase the capacity of public health service facilities, such as purchase of medicines, consumables, personal protective clothing (PPE) and health kits.
"In the spirit of the Malaysian Family, the MOH has also outsourced to private hospitals and hospitals supervised by other ministries to optimise health capacity in the country," he said when tabling the 2022 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said the government also planned to procure antiviral drugs that are found to be effective against various viruses, including COVID-19, to continue to win in the fight against the pandemic.
The National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) would be further strengthened to supply the third dose as a booster dose for adults, as well as to continue with the vaccination for those aged 12 to 17 years.
He said the government had signed an agreement to get 88 million doses, which is equivalent to more than 140 percent of the population and enough to give a third dose to all residents aged 12 years and above.
Tengku Zafrul said the government also planned to provide individual tax relief and tax deduction to employers on costs associated with taking self-funded booster vaccine shots.
Meanwhile, he also expressed his appreciation to all Members of Parliament for unanimously agreeing to allow the use of the National Trust Fund for procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine.
-- BERNAMA
