Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad repeated his declaration that Malaysia is an "Islamic nation" in presenting the 2003 Budget at the Parliament today when allocating a total of RM317 million for the development of Islam.

He said being an Islamic country which practises Islamic teachings, the government had the responsibility to preserve the sanctity of Islam and therefore had allocated RM203.1 million to implement programmes on the true understanding of Islam for all levels of society.

Another RM113.9 million will be allocated for the implementation of several development projects, including the construction of mosques, training complexes, religious schools and the development of an information system.