Wong believes state govt has means to turn Budget 2018 into surplus budget

SIBU: The state government will be able to collect more revenue to turn the deficit budget tabled last week into a surplus budget.

In stating this, Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said he did not foresee any problem in achieving that.

“You know that last year, we (the state) also had a deficit budget of about RM300 million.

“But in the end, it became a surplus budget of another RM300 million.

“In other words, we had increased our revenue by over RM700 (million), minus the deficit of over RM300 (million) – we had a surplus of over RM400 million,” he told reporters after representing Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg at the United Chinese Association Sibu Division ( UCA Sibu) 40th anniversary dinner at a leading hotel here on Saturday.

Among those present were vice- consul of the ConsulateGeneral of the People’s Republic of China in Kuching, Zhang Yang; UCA Sibu president Kong Hian Khim; event organising chairman Lau Kim Foo; Federation of Chinese Associations Sarawak president Hii Teck Yun, Sibu Resident Hii Chang Kee, Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Datuk Tiong Thai King, Temenggong Dato Vincent Lau and Temenggong Stanley Geramong.

Wong, who is also Minister of International Trade and E- Commerce, was asked if there were plans by the state government to generate more revenue to overcome the deficit budget.

“I hope along the way, we will collect more revenue to make up (the deficit). So, there is no problem with that,” the Bawang Assan assemblyman said.

Last week, Abang Johari tabled the state Budget 2018 at the State Legislative Assembly.

He had said that the state Budget 2018 will continue to be development-biased with 70 per cent of the budget of RM8.226 billion proposed for development.

He said Sarawak, being a developing state, has to continue with a development-biased budget to stimulate a desirable level of economic activities and sustain economic growth during the year. In this regards, Abang Johari had pointed out that under the Budget 2018 proposal, a sum of RM5.745 billion or about 70 per cent of the total budget is proposed for development while an amount of RM2.481 billion, or 30 per cent of the total budget, is proposed for operating expenditure.

He had also said the proposed 2018 Budget is estimated to register a budget deficit of RM256 million, adding that the budget deficit for the year is on the basis of an expected total revenue of RM5.525 billion against a total ordinary expenditure estimate of RM5.781 billion.