BELUM DISUNTING 29 NOVEMBER 2016 (Mesyuarat dimulakan pada jam 9.07 pagi) [Tuan Speaker mempengerusikan Mesyuarat] DOA PEMASYHURAN DARIPADA TUAN SPEAKER Tuan Speaker: Bismillahirahmanirahim. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Selamat pagi dan salam sejahtera. Ahli-Ahli Yang Berhormat, I have granted leave of absence under Standing Order 81 to Yang Berhormat Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Anak Utom, Minister for Public Utilities and Member for N.69 Kemena and Yang Berhormat Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn, Assistant Minister for Public Utilities and Member for N.20 Tarat, for today’s and tomorrow’s sitting. RANG UNDANG-UNDANG KERJAAN – BACAAN KALI YANG KEDUA RANG UNDANG-UNDANG PERBEKALAN (2017), 2016 DAN USUL UNTUK MERUJUK RESOLUSI ANGGARAN PEMBANGUNAN BAGI PERBELANJAAN 2017 [Penggulungan oleh Para Menteri] Y.B. Dr Ting Tiong Choon: Order Tuan Speaker. Tuan Speaker: How can you raise point of order, we have not started the order of the day? Y.B. Dr Ting Tiong Choon: Standing Order. Tuan Speaker: We have not started the order of the day. Y.B. Dr Ting Tiong Choon: Sorry. Tuan Speaker: You can’t raise point of order. Y.B. Dr Ting Tiong Choon: Standing order. Tuan Speaker: No, we have not started the order of the day. Ahli-Ahli Yang Berhormat, dengan hormatnya saya menjemput Yang Berhormat Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Menteri Kewangan Kedua, untuk menyampaikan ucapan penggulungan. Also Honourable Member for Pujut, under Standing Order 12 “Government business takes precedence over other business”. Proceed. Menteri Kewangan Kedua (Y.B. Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh): Tuan Speaker, before I begin with my winding up speech, first and foremost, I would like to thank our Chief Minister, Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Haji Adenan Haji Satem for tabling and presenting the proposed State Budget 2017. The proposed budget continues to be Development-Biased and Rural-Focused, which is pivotal in supporting the Transformation Agenda of the State towards achieving a developed State status by 2030. Tuan Speaker, I would like to record my sincere appreciation to Ahli-Ahli Yang Berhormat who had participated in the debate on the Supply (2017) Bill, 2016 and for their constructive comments and invaluable suggestions. Honourable Members spoke not only on matters concerning their constituencies, but deliberated at length on the economy of the State, distribution of financial allocation, challenges and issues facing the country and the 1 BELUM DISUNTING 29 NOVEMBER 2016 world today. I am glad to note that Ahli-Ahli Yang Berhormat have shown good understanding of the prevailing economic scenario and the need for the State to continue to be disciplined in its financial management while at the same time moving towards with its development agenda. Ahli-Ahli Yang Berhormat also noted that there is a need for us to continue to be prudent in our spending in order to consolidate the State’s financial position in meeting the economic challenges ahead. Tuan Speaker, issues and matters raised relating to the relevant Ministries and agencies during the debate have been and will be dealt with by the Ministers concerned in their Winding Up address. I will, therefore, confine myself to matters relating to my Ministry particularly on the more pertinent issues brought up by Ahli-Ahli Yang Berhormat relating to the proposed State Budget 2017. Tuan Speaker, the stable political and harmonious social environment of the State is the culminating efforts of years of careful planning and nurturing under the capable leadership of the Barisan Nasional Government. In fact, the prevailing political stability and social harmony has been the most valuable and admired asset of the State which we take pride of. The ability to appreciate and preserve the value of this intangible asset is in my view, a great collective wisdom of our people. We should not destabilize this delicate fabric of our society for short term political mileage, instead to harness it for the greater prosperity of our future generations. State Budget 2017 Tuan Speaker, I would now like to briefly dwell on the salient points of the 2017 proposed State Budget tabled by the Yang Amat Berhormat Ketua Menteri. The Budget continues to emphasize on the need to accelerate the development agenda of the State, albeit economic difficulties. The 2017 proposed Budget allocation reflects our seriousness in speeding up rural development aim at improving the quality of life of our rural community and at the same time narrowing the development gap between urban and rural areas. The budget also stressed on the importance to continue adopting and exercising sound and responsible financial management to enable the State to withstand the increasingly challenging economic environment. In addition, it calls for the need to continuously enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the delivery system at all levels to ensure quality service to our rakyat. Tuan Speaker, in summary, the main thrusts of the State Budget 2017 are: (a) The Budget continues to be development-biased to provide adequate funding to ensure the smooth implementation of the State development transformation agenda and at the same time to stimulate the domestic economic activities; (b) The Budget continues to be rural-focused, in tandem with our continuous effort to narrow the development gap between the rural and urban areas; (c) The Budget, among others, gives special attention to the three State Transformation Initiatives which are Socio Economic Transformation, Rural Transformation and Performance and Service Delivery Transformation; (d) The Budget continues to support productive economic activities to sustain economic growth; 2 BELUM DISUNTING 29 NOVEMBER 2016 (e) The Budget gives emphasis on growth to be driven by greater efficiency and higher productivity; and (f) The Budget also continues to give particular emphasis on the need to continue on collective effort in enhancing the State Government’s financial management, and the effectiveness and efficiency of its delivery system. We ought to manage and monitor our operating expenditure prudently and to ensure optimization on the utilization of resources and at the same time minimize wastage. Tuan Speaker, the proposed Budget for next year provides a bigger development allocation as compared to the previous years even in the face of an anticipated declining State revenue. The lower State revenue is attributed to the continued weaker global commodities prices particularly crude oil and gas. The proposed 2017 Budget would therefore be in a deficit of RM385 million. Tuan Speaker, it is becoming crucial that the State continues to sustain a desired level of economic growth and to support its development momentum in the current time of global economic uncertainties through an expansionary Budget. This strategy is also to further stimulate domestic economic activities as the external sector is expected to remain weak next year. Overview of Global Economy Tuan Speaker, allow me to touch briefly on the current economic environment and its prospects. Yang Amat Berhormat Ketua Menteri in his Budget Speech had cautioned us on the challenges ahead and the increasingly global uncertainties as we journey on with our development efforts. Growth for 2017 in advanced economy is expected to be influenced by Brexit, the recent result of the United States Presidential election and Japan policy support, while growth in emerging market economies is anticipated to be affected by the expected slowdown in China. Financial market conditions although continue to improve, will remain volatile. The pace of recovery is likely to be sluggish unless more policy support is put in place to restore confidence in the world financial systems. In the third quarter of 2016, global economy continued to experience moderate growth. The latest data pointed to modest economic activity in the advanced economies. In Asia, domestic demand remains an important source of growth amid persistent weakness in external demand. While pressures in the international financial markets resided following major central banks easing actions, a number of important policy issues in the major economies continued to pose uncertainties to global growth prospects. Amid subdued growth outlook and low inflation, several major and regional central banks increased the degree of monetary accommodation. Tuan Speaker, the Bank Negara Third Quarter Report indicated that our National economy expanded by 4.3% in the third quarter of 2016 as compared to 4.0% in the second quarter. The growth was underpinned mainly by continued expansion in public and private sector spending. On the supply side, growth continued to be driven by the major economic sectors. Overall, GDP for the year is projected to grow in a range of 4.0% to 4.5% and is expected to be around 4.0% to 5.0% for 2017. As highlighted in the Budget speech, out State economy is estimated to grow around 3.5% to 4% this year. With the extra-deliberated effort by the State Government to support domestic economy through the proposed expansionary Budget, I am confident that the GDP growth between 4.0% to 5.0% forecasted for the State next year is attainable. 3 BELUM DISUNTING 29 NOVEMBER 2016 The Eleventh Malaysia Plan: Planning and Implementation Tuan Speaker, we are now embarking on the implementation of the Sarawak Socio- Economic Transformation Plan covering a period of 2016 until 2030. The main objectives of this Plan are to accelerate economic growth and to reduce income disparity in the State. The long term Sarawak Socio-Economic Transformation Plan would be undertaken in phases through the Five Year Development Plan. Indeed, the Plan execution has started in 2016 with the implementation of various programmes and projects approved under the Eleventh Malaysia Plan. This phased implementation approach is adopted to ensure that the Plan is manageable in terms of planning, funding and execution by the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Public Investment in the State Tuan Speaker, undoubtedly, public investment plays a very significant role in stimulating the desired growth and development of an economy.