KUCHING: The Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Children Development is of the view that the focus of the 2021 Federal Budget will be on addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.
Its minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the objective would be to help those affected by the pandemic.
“We know that a large budget is needed to address the Covid-19 pandemic, that is giving various types of aid to those affected and stimulating the economy.
“Therefore, we understand that in the area of development, it will not be as what we expected before this,” she told a press conference at the Sarawak Social Welfare Department’s Kuching office at Majma Mall today.
She said there would not be high expectations from the government, particularly in the terms of development.
“With that, the Sarawak government needs to be accommodative and come up with a bigger development budget.
“This is what we are expecting because we understand the current situation and do not rely too much on the federal budget,” she said.
On Sunday, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz hinted that the 2021 Budget would be bigger than the previous year’s to restart the economy and create more jobs.
He said the government would spend more on development projects next year while saving on operational costs.
Tengku Zafrul is expected to present the budget on Nov 6.
