KOTA KINABALU: The State Legislative Assembly on Monday passed the First Supplementary Supply (2020) Enactment 2020 to take out a total of RM553 million from the Consolidated Fund for additional expenditure this year.
Tabling the Bill on Tuesday, Chief Minister-cum-Finance Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said the Sabah Covid-19 Aid Package that was announced on March 25, this year, involves such additional provision (RM553 million), besides from getting less revenue collections that could not be collected by the State government or local authorities (PBT) and giving some discounts on paying electricity bills.
He said the package consists of 15 steps that can be summarized into three main categories to get the aid namely the frontliners, easing burden people from various backgrounds especially those low-income earners and an early step to stimulate and restore the state’s economy that is also affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.
“This bill requires to apply the additional provision of RM553 million that is specified in a Schedule to this Enactment and allocated to four ministries and two State departments to cater the needs for programmes or projects that are carried out under the Sabah Covid-19 Aid Package.
“From the additional expenditure applied, the biggest amount is RM340 million that goes to Sabah State Finance Ministry.
“Of the figure, RM90 million is allotted to prepare funds for the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Micro Credit Scheme that are managed and handled by Sabah Credit Corporation.
“This will benefit the SMEs community, small entrepreneurs; as well as small-scale contractors who are affected when their business activities are slow down due to the Covid-19 outbreak,” he said.
While another RM200 million, Shafie said is allotted to realise small projects that are expected to finance implementation 1,000 projects as an effort to improve upgrading quality, coverage of infrastructure and basic facilities in rural Sabah.
He said the allocation would be used to repair 39 Quarantine Centers in the State that have been gazetted, such as the Sabah Fire and Rescue Academy, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Kota Kinabalu and 13 additional buildings currently being identified by the Public Works Department as technical agency.
“Apart from spending the allocation on a proposal to modify a hall in Likas Sport Complex here as a branch for QEH to accommodate placement and additional healthcare centre with the expectation of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, it would also cover repairing works and providing several facilities such as 87 cubicles, 172 beds, medical storage, doctors’ room, nurses’ room, toilets and other mechanical and technical works.
“While the remaining RM50 million is provided under a Special Allocation of the Finance Minister to cover other various expenses that may arise and are urgently need in expediting relief to the people.
“A total of RM9 million from the allocation was channelled to the Sabah Liaison Office in Kuala Lumpur to disburse RM300 as one-off cash assistance to each of 30,000 Sabahans whom are working in the Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.
According to him, the package also includes and takes into account the reduction in revenue collection that is not collected by the State Government or Local Authorities (PBT), in addition giving discounts on payment of electricity bills during the MCO period and the Covid-19 outbreak.
Depending on the real financial implications, he said repayment due to reduction in revenue collections will be included in the tabling of the Second Supplementary Supply (2020) and a further explanation of this package is as below:-
i) Reduction in collecting quit rent by 30 per cent for 2020 benefiting 232,774 individuals, 9,184 companies; and 402 in different categories. This is expected to involve a decrease in the State Government revenue by RM27.86 million.
ii) Exemption to pay water bill payments to all domestic water users for three months beginning in April, 2020 to benefit 335,000 domestic water user which is expected to involve a drop on State Government revenue by RM36 million.
iii) Exemption from paying house rent for a six-month period beginning April, 2020 that will benefit 20,080 households. This exemption will cost about RM21.1 million to the State Government.
iv) Reduction in collecting assessment rates, (imposed by local authorities or PBT) by 20 per cent that will benefit 97,641 taxpayers in Kota Kinabalu and 221,470 payers in other areas under the jurisdiction of local authorities. This is expected to result in a decrease in PBT revenue by RM43.26 million.
v) Exemption of payment for hawkers’ licenses, including fee payment of unlicensed small-time hawkers in all District Councils for 2020 to benefit 26,227 hawkers and this is expected to result in a reduction of RM6.6 million in the PBT revenue collection.
vi) Giving 28 per cent discount on electric bill payments for three months beginning April, 2020 to benefit 512,000 consumers in Sabah and this expected to include a refund of RM35.65 million to Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (Sesb).
“I would like to take the opportunity here to thank the Federal Government as it has allocated RM15 million to the State Government whereby RM10 million specifically to address Covid-19 and RM5 million for the implementation of small project packages.
“I also wish to express my deepest gratitude to the government agencies and various quarters that have contributed and giving out donations to ease burden people whom are affected by the Covid-10 outbreak,” he said.
Shafie said a total of RM75 million from the additional provision RM553 million is allocated for the Chief Minister’s Department under the aid of Sabah Covid-19 Aid Package.
Of the RM75 million, he said RM50 million is a special fund to finance Covid-19 Emergency Expenses while RM10 million allotted for food aid and cater needs of the frontliners personnel and a sum of RM15 million for the relief of food needs in affected villages.
He said the State government will channel RM1 million to each agency of the frontliners such as police, army, Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom), Civil Defence Force, Sabah Immigration Department, Customs Departments and RELA.
Apart from the frontliners, he said the allocation is also used to buy critical equipment like face masks, hand sanitisers and other essential items that need to be distributed to ministries, departments, government agencies and local authorities.
He said a total of RM17.3 million was used to provide food aid to 225,569 households living in villages and affected by the virus outbreak as well as channeling the aid to quarantine centres, those in home quarantine and in temporary quarantine.
“RM874,100.00 also used to render food aid to 3,416 students in 40 higher learning institutions (IPTA) and 27 private learning institutions (IPTS).
“In addition, RM500,000.00 has been channelled to Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to render aid to students staying in the main campus here, FT Labuan, Sandakan and non-resident during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period,” he said.
For farmers, fishermen and livestock breeders whom are mostly hit by the MCO and unable to carry out their daily activities and could not market their produce and livestock animals, Shafie said RM50 million is allocated to the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry (KPIM) so as to render one-off cash assistance of RM300 to targeted recipients of 169,630 involve in farming, fishery and breeding livestock.
As of April 17, he said KPIM is currently processing 118,635 recipients who gave their account bank numbers to benefit the aid.
Apart from this, Shafie said RM24 million is channelled to Sabah Welfare Services Department to give out one-off cash aid of RM300 each to 62,638 people who are affected involving elderly, special
people (OKU) and orphans.
As of April 17, he said the department has paid out RM18.658 million to 62,183 recipients and the one-off cash aid of RM300 is also given to 6,500 single mothers in Sabah whereby RM2 million is channelled to meet the purpose to the Sabah Women Affairs Department under the Health and People’s Wellbeing Ministry.
“The First Supplementary Supply 2020 also includes channelling an allocation of RM62 million to the Rural Development Ministry (KPLB) whereby RM20 million is provided to help poor and hardcore poor people by giving one-off cash aid of RM500 to each of the 22,456 poor households and 15,747 hardcore poor households.
“As of April 17, a total of 22,094 poor/hardcore poor households have received the cash aid totalling RM11.1 million while remaining applications are being processed to get the cash aid payment.
“One-off RM300 cash aid is given to Sabahans with low income under B40 group including taxi and bus drivers, porter and mountain guides.
“Based on April 17 report, a total of 19,828 recipients under B40 group whom are not listed in the e-kasih system have received the aid totalling RM5.95 million while payments for 13,132 recipients, whom are taxi and bus drivers as well as lorry drivers, are being processed to get the cash aid totalling RM3.94 million but 1,877 people whom are listed have been paid with the aid totalling RM563,100.00,” he said.
Under category porter, mountain guides and freelance artists, Shafie said 313 have been helped with the aid totalling RM93,300 and 1,039 freelance tour guides also have benefited total aid of RM311,700.
Shafie said the State Government has been concerned with the issue of paying allowances of the Village Community Management Council (MPKK) which has been delayed due to a recent change in Federal Government administration.
Thus, he said a sum of RM30 million from the additional allocation provided to KPLB is used to finance operations management and allowances of the MPKK for 10 months starting from March up to December, this year, to ease the burden faced by them and to ensure that the MPKK continues to assist the State Government in providing services to the village community, especially in these difficult times.
Source : http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/151314/how-the-rm553m-will-be-spent-cm/