KUCHING: Second Minister of Finance Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh is expecting the upcoming federal 2018 budget to be a friendly budget.
“We hope that more allocations are available for the state, particularly for rural projects.
“We need a lot of funds for electricity and water projects in Sarawak,” he said when met by reporters after the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony between Kolej Sunway Kuching and International Association of Book-keepers (IAB) at Riverside Majestic Hotel here, yesterday.
He hoped there would also be more allocations for roads and bridges.
“The state government is going ahead with the coastal roads that have been approved by the cabinet and funded by state government.
“Of course, the federal government will build the Pan Borneo Highway which should be implemented within the time frame with enough funds,” he explained.
Wong also disclosed that his International Trade and E-commerce Ministry would allocate RM1 billion for IT infrastructure, which was announced by the Chief Minister.
“The Chief Minister is going to table the new multimedia authority ordinance in the coming DUN sitting in November which will cover all aspects of digital economy,” he added.
Meanwhile, when asked about the possible announcement by the Prime Minister in the 2018 budget regarding e-commerce tax, Wong said the tax is a necessity.
“A lot of the transaction done by e-commerce cannot be detected. Therefore, there have to be rules and regulations governing it, so that people who make money through it have to pay for it,” he stressed.
