BY SYASYA SUFIAN
SHAH ALAM, NOV 10: The Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) supports the 2017 Selangor Budget, which is deemed as smart economics in ensuring the speedy development of the state.
ABIM President Mohamad Raimi Abdul Rahim said that the difference in the budgets on the federal and state levels can be clearly seen in context of percentages development and administration.
“It was an act of courage and prudence of the State Government to allot 57% for development, and this is far different from the major provisions of the Federal Government for administration.
“It is a wise economic policy to ensure that the development of the country can be speedily driven and tax received by the State Government gets back to the citizens,” he said to SelangorKini.
At the same time, Raimi said that the State Government’s commitment towards education and health will be able to ease the burden of the people who are now faced with higher costs of living.
He cited the provision of RM124 million allocation for heath, which was a smart move in focusing on households earning the lowest 40% (B40), as they are the group that is most in need.
“The State Government gives full attention to education by placing a high allocation of RM10 million for scholarships, while the Federal Government reduced allocations for scholarships and sending students abroad.
“Feedback from students was also very good because they receive bigger benefits and understand that the number of applications exceed the number of scholarships offered.
“This means that demand is very high and the increase in allocation is in line with demand and current needs,” he said.
Raimi also raised the issue of the economic wellbeing of youths, who have not been given enough attention by the Federal Government, especially in the context of asset purchases, such as houses.
“The State Government pays attention by providing incentives to purchase a house that is more realistic and practical as compared to projects offered by the Federal Government.
“It appears that the Federal Government still fails to offer something meaningful to the younger generation to own important assets,” he said.
ABIM: Selangor Budget economy-friendly in comparison to Putrajaya
