KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — The government is allocating RM13.2 billion this year to less developed states namely Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis under the Fourth Rolling Plan of the 11th Malaysia Plan (RMK-11), in an effort to close the economic gap between states.

Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the allocation was a 10.6 per cent increase compared to RM11.9 billion allocated last year, making up 24.1 per cent of the total allocation for development in Malaysia.
“In the final two years of RMK-11 (2016-2020), the federal government’s development allocation will be distributed with priority given to six less developed states,” he said during the Dewan Rakyat sitting here, today.

He said the 2019 allocation would be used to implement 349 new projects and 1,696 connecting projects via various government ministries.
“The economic disparity between states keeps on widening even though there is an increasing trend of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in all states.

“This is due to a difference in economic activities between states. In this matter, Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis and Sabah which are dominated by the agricultural sector, registered the biggest gap in GDP per capita compared to national average of RM42,228 in 2017,” he said in reply to a question by Wong Ling Biu (PH-Sarikei).

According to Mohamed Azmin, Kelantan registered the lowest GDP per capita at RM13,593 in 2017 or 67.8 per cent below the national average.

Overall, Selangor, Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur (including Labuan), Sarawak and Johor contributed 57.5 per cent to the national GDP.

The Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory Labuan, Sabah, Melaka, Selangor, Johor and Penang recorded a higher GDP growth compared to the national average of 5.1 per cent. — Bernama