Kota Kinabalu: State Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun unveiled a 2024 State Budget amounting to RM5.737 billion at the State Legislative Assembly, Friday.
Themed “Sabah Teguh, Rakyat Terbela” (Sabah Robust, People Prosper), it is also the tenth consecutive surplus budget since 2015 with a surplus of RM35.87 million.
Stressing that the wellbeing of the people is the State’s priority, he said, that by implementing the formulated strategies, Sabahans would prosper as long as the State’s economy advances robustly and sustainably.
The State’s economy, he said, is advancing towards recovery by registering encouraging growth of 3.7 per cent in 2022 compared to 1.5 per cent previously.
By implementing various high-impact initiatives to intensify and expedite economic recovery, he is confident that the State’s overall economic growth for 2024 would remain positive at a rate of approximately 4 per cent.
“Sabah’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased from RM79 billion in 2021 to RM81.9 billion in 2022, whereas Sabah GDP per capita has also increased to RM35,766 in 2022 from RM30,022 previously.
“This positive growth is driven among others by the recovery of key economic sectors in Sabah.”
From January to August 2023, he said, the State recorded a total trade balance of RM13 billion compared to RM24 billion in the same period last year which is a contraction of 45.8 per cent.
“The decline was driven by a decrease in the export value of the State’s major commodities, particularly Petroleum Crude Oil (CO) and Crude Palm Oil (CPO).
“The depreciation of CO export value is due to a decrease in export quantity by 7.8 per cent and a decline in market prices.
“The average price of CO during this period has decreased by 24.5 per cent, which is US$80.59 per barrel compared to US$106.74 per barrel in 2022.
“This resulted in a decrease in Sabah CO export value of 21.1 per cent,” he said.
As for the decline in CPO export value, it was due to a decrease in market prices.
“The average price of CPO is RM3,873.63 per metric tonne compared to RM5,628.13 per metric tonne in the same period in 2022, representing a decrease of 31.18 per cent.
“The decrease in CPO prices has contributed to a reduction in the export value of 27.9 per cent.”
He said total imports recorded an increase of RM27.3 billion from RM26.4 billion in the same period in 2022, which is an increase of 3.4 per cent.
“This is contributed by the rise in the import value of State’s major goods such as food, machinery and transport equipment, mineral fuels, lubricants and others.
“Nevertheless, I am optimistic that the State will be able to maintain a positive growth momentum this year which will continue to be supported by strong domestic consumption, increase in
public and private investments as well as continuous recovery of the key economic sectors.
“Moreover, this growth is also driven by strengthening of labour market which can be observed through the downward trend in unemployment rate, which is 7.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to 8.6 per cent recorded during the same period last year,” he said.
As of September, the State’s inflation recorded a rate of 1.8 per cent, which is slightly lower than the national rate of 1.9 per cent.
“The State Government will continue to implement various initiatives to control the increase in the price of goods and stabilise the inflation rate in order to further reduce the pressure and burden of the people’s cost of living,” he said.
Masidi said the 2024 State Budget is prepared to achieve five objectives of expenditure strategies: To increase and strengthen the growth of key sectors namely agriculture and food security, industrial and tourism; To empower human capital by strengthening knowledge, skills and spiritual values to foster a strong self-identity; To address socio-economic gaps and improve the people’s standard of living through various initiatives geared towards inclusivity and equality; To develop enablers to support economic development that includes basic infrastructure and infostructure as well as public facilities; and To enhance the ability, efficiency and effectiveness of the State’s administration and delivery system
Furthermore, he said, the implementation of prudent spending policy, cultivation of integrity and effective work practices will streamline the State Government’s administration in accordance with the 2024 Budget theme.
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