ISKANDAR PUTERI: The state government has tabled the second deficit budget amounting to RM286.47 million for 2022.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Ir Hasni Mohammad (pix) said the state is expected to record a revenue of RM1.671 billion and expenditure of RM1.958 billion next year.
“The theme of the Johor Budget 2022 was chosen in line with the state government’s intention to ensure the survival of the people affected by the pandemic.
“Hence, in my opinion, this budget is very meaningful because it highlights the state government’s efforts to provide a new injection and leap towards sustainable and resilient economic and social growth.
“All considerations and Johor’s 2022 Budget will be guided by two main principles, firstly, addressing and alleviating the burden of the people affected by Covid-19 and secondly, intensifying initial efforts in rehabilitating economic sectors as a whole,“ he said when presenting the budget at the fourth session of the 14th Johor State Legislative Assembly in Kota Iskandar here today.
Themed “Strengthening the Prosperity of Johor”, the state government has proposed to allocate RM1.087 billion for operating expenditure and RM870 million for development expenditure, which will be used to implement the four impetus and 12 main agendas in the budget.
“However, our revenue and deficit estimates are subject to a high level of uncertainty influenced by several factors such as the emergence of high Covid-19 variants, high social impact and the reopening of international borders,“ he said.
On the performance of Johor’s Budget 2021, he said 141 initiatives set forth with a total allocation of RM850 million had achieved 85.1 percent implementation until the third quarter of 2021.
Hasni (BN-Benut) said after Johor experienced a contraction of 4.6 per cent in 2020, the state economy is projected to grow around 3.5 percent to 4.1 percent this year and is expected to continue to experience pre-crisis growth in the next half year. — Bernama
