KUALA LUMPUR: Six of the poorest states in the country will have significantly higher federal allocation than other states under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), says Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli (pic).
Rafizi said the allocation for the six poorest states, namely Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis, has had the highest allocation since 2021 and would be maintained in 13MP.
He said this in response to Mohd Nazri Abu Hassan (PN-Merbok) in Parliament yesterday, who asked Rafizi if 13MP’s project planning would consider the socioeconomic disparities of the states as well as efforts to bridge regional development gaps.
To this, Rafizi said bridging such gaps would require significant effort and cooperation from the state governments, noting that the federal government’s efforts and allocation alone would not be enough.
“I hope the duty to close the gap will not be left solely to the federal government, as it is a shared responsibility that must be borne by the respective state governments, as only with such cooperation can we attract investments and businesses.
“If closing this gap could be solved by a request for large allocations from the federal government, that has already been happening since 2021 and continues to this day.
“Yet, there are no clear signs that the gap is being effectively closed in certain states,” he said during Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
He added that state governments could play their part by adopting business-friendly economic frameworks that need to be developed collectively with other stakeholders.
