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Najib, who is also Finance Minister, arrived at the Parliament building at 3.10pm, before making his way to the Dewan Rakyat, before starting his speech at 3.35pm.
Najib tabling the Budget 2018 proposal in Parliament. On the left is Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmaqd Zahid Hamidi
Here are the main points of his speech:
– A total of RM280.25bil has been allocated for Budget 2018, an increase of RM19.45bil over the 2017 budget allocation of RM260.8bil.
– Of the total figure, RM234.45bil is for administration, the remaining RM46bil is for development.
– Malaysia's income per capita is expected to rise to RM42,777 by 2018, median monthly income in the country has risen from RM4,585 in 2014 to RM5,288 in 2016.
– The Budget 2018 theme is: Prosper with Inclusive Economy, Balancing duniawi (worldly) and ukhrawi (other-worldly) excellence to better the lives of the rakyat towards #TN50 aspirations.
– Budget 2018 has eight core thrusts.
– The first thrust is to enhance investment, trade and industry. The amount of domestic investment is expected to increase by 6.7%.
– Private investments are expected to touch RM260bil in 2018, in line with goals to make the private sector an engine of growth.
The second thrust is towards achieving TN50 aspirations.
– Every Malaysian child born from Jan 1, 2018-2022, to be gifted RM200 worth of Amanah Saham units in new fund called Amanah Dana Anak Malaysia 2050 or ADAM50.
– RM2.2bil for scholarship grants under the Public Service Department (JPA), Higher Education Ministry and Health Ministry
– RM400mil for research grants and development for public universities, including special allocation to Universiti Malaya to become one of the Top 100 universities globally.
– RM90mil allocated for MyBrain Progamme for 10,600 people to further their studies at the Masters and Doctorate level.
– University and Form Six student to continue receiving book vouchers worth RM250, benefiting as many as 1.2mil students.
– RM1bil for initiatives spanning FitMalaysia, National Sports Day, athlete programmes, grassroots program and the national football development programme.
– RM20mil for the Bukit Jalil Sports School to upgrade its facilities as a premier sports school
– Third Thrust: Excellence in Education Development, Training, Skills and Talent, total of RM61.6bil for this sector
– RM550mil allocated to special fund for improvement and upkeep of schools, as follows:
RM250mil for national schools; RM50mil for Chinese schools; RM50mil for Tamil schools; RM50mil for Mubaligh (missionary) schools; RM50mil for full boarding schools; RM50mil for Maktab Sains Rendah Mara, RM50mil for government-aided religious schools.
– Almost 2,000 schools in bad condition, Government allocating largest-ever amount, RM2.5bil over a period of two years through the Industrial Building System method.
– Fourth Thrust: Budget 2018 allocation for rural development includes:
RM6.5bil allocation for basic infrastructure in rural areas;
RM2bil for the Pan-Borneo Highway;
RM1.1bil to upgrade bridges, streetlights, villages, surau and markets;
RM1bil for SKMM to upgrade the communication infrastructure and broadband facilities in Sabah and Sarawak;
RM934mil for rural road projects, including almost RM500mil for Sabah and Sarawak;
RM672mil for electricity supplies, including RM620mil for Sabah and Sarawak involving 10,000 rural homes;
RM420mil including almost RM300 for Sabah and Sarawak provided for clean water supply involving 3,000 homes;
RM500mil allocated for the Public Infrastructure Maintenance Programme and Basic Infrastructure Project;
RM50mil for mapping and measurement of custom lands, in which RM30mil is for Sarawak and RM20mil for Sabah.
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