KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — Some RM2.7 billion has been allocated by the government to improve rural infrastructure to bridge the development disparity with urban areas, with almost half to be spent on improving rural roads.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, when announcing Budget 2021, said RM1.3 billion from the allocation will be spent to implement rural and village road projects covering a length of 920km, set to benefit more than 290 residents.
“The government will continue efforts to reduce the urban and rural development gaps. For this, RM2.7 billion will be channelled to implement various programmes and projects to improve infrastructures in the rural areas,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul announced that RM632 million has been allocated to improve the water supply from conventional and alternative sources in rural areas, set to benefit around 4,800 households.
A total of RM250 million was allocated towards improving electricity grids in rural areas set to reach some 1,100 households, while RM355 million was set aside for the House Assistance Programme, a project aimed at building and restoring dilapidated houses of those within the poorer community potentially affecting some 15,000 houses.
Also announced was an RM121 allocation for streetlights installation and maintenance works involving 27,000 streetlights and half a million units of village-road lights.
“The government will also expand the moving bank services in Sabah and Sarawak similar to what has been undertaken by the Sarawak state government.
“This is a step towards helping those facing difficulty accessing banking basic facilities such as cash transfers, bill payments, and withdrawals of government cash aids such as the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat,” he said during his speech.
Additionally, Tengku Zafrul announced the lowering of threshold needed to obtain funding from the Malaysian Road Records Information System (Marris) for up to 20 per cent of costs or RM50,000, whichever is lower, for maintenance works outside Marris’ scope of work.
