State budget to focus on rebuilding economy

Amirudin (left) kicking off the Selangor Budget 2021 dialogue session at Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam.

SELANGOR’s budget for 2021 will focus on rebuilding the economy and certain sectors such as tourism, as part of its post-pandemic recovery plan.

As many local businesses, small and medium enterprises, and tourism players have been badly hit by the movement control order (MCO), the state will focus on helping those sectors.

“We will focus on producing a creative economy, agriculture and tourism as we have to embrace and empower those sectors especially after this Covid-19 pandemic.

“There will be specific sessions to discuss those sectors in our budget dialogue, which has been planned since a few months back, ” said Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari at the Selangor Budget 2021 dialogue session.

Held at the Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam, the dialogue session saw participation of representatives from all local councils in Selangor as well as representatives from other government departments and stakeholders.

The dialogue session comprised five segments, which focused on agriculture and tourism, liveable cities and health, digitalisation and the urban poor, creative industries and new revenues for wealth.

“We will also be looking into digitalisation and technology as we want to ensure that it is accessible to all, ” said the Mentri Besar.

He explained how technology and digitalisation kept businesses afloat during the MCO as almost all industries had to transition and take their businesses and work online.

“It will not be easy to rebuild the economy but we are confident that we can work hard and strive to recover for the sake of all Selangor residents.

“Throughout this pandemic, we have proven to be a resilient state, ” he said.

During the dialogue session, there were also suggestions to look into ensuring there was social protection for all in the formal and informal sector.

This is to ensure even roadside traders who were not able to earn any income during the MCO had help, along with those who lost their jobs.

It was also mentioned during the dialogue that one in every three working adults in a low-cost flat had lost their jobs because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In light of this, there were proposals for the budget to also focus on providing education to all children and to focus on affordable living.