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.

He said part of the sum will be channeled to the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to implement among others, Islamic education and training programmes, social development, research and information dissemination as well as the enforcement of law.

"However, not all requests in the name of Islam can be met simultaneously. Islam teaches us to be patient," he added.

On Sept 29, last year, Mahathir declared that Malaysia is an Islamic state and had received fierce criticism from DAP, Catholics and even Islamic organisations.

He defended his stand on Monday where he told a seminar that Malaysia, where Muslims make up 60 percent of the population, was a model for other Islamic nations and had a responsibility to portray the religion as tolerant and moderate.

He said even if the Federal Constitution had not stated Malaysia as an Islamic state, the people and the rest of the world have accepted that of Malaysia.

His statement had led opposition party DAP to launch a campaign against the Islamic state declaration and the party leaders have been arrested under the Sedition Act on several occasions for handing out leaflets criticising Mahathir .

NGOs and women

In the presenting the budget report, the prime minister also recognised the role of non-governmental organisations (NGO) in helping the development of the society welfare but expressed his disappointment that most NGOs were more interested in finding fault with the government.

"Although many NGOs are more interested in politics and in finding faults of others, there are still some with positive attitudes and work hard to help the less fortunate. To them, we will continue to provide assistance to enable them to undertake activities in line with government policies," he said.

Thus, a sum of RM20 million is allocated to NGOs to undertake activities specifically relating to women and family development. He added that another RM9 million will channeled to the Malaysian Aids Council to carry out preventive activities and treat drug addicts. Another RM19 million is allocated for activities for the disabled.

In recognising women's role in national economic and social development, Mahathir said the Women and Family Development Ministry will be given RM99.1 million, an increase of 68 percent over 2002.

The ministry is in the process of introducing a gender-based budget analysis on implications of the national budget on women and men to ensure economic resources are efficiently allocated, he said.

He said low-income single mothers who form 1.2 percent of the female population will be given the opportunity to own low-cost houses, while paternity leave will be lengthened from three to seven days.

25 new hospitals

As for the health sector, RM7.55 billion is allocated, an increase of nearly 20 percent compared with 2002, to continue upgrading the standard and quality of medical services and public health. Out of this, RM5.76 billion is for operating expenditure and RM1.79 billion for development expenditure.

Tweny-five new hospitals will be constructed, 47 upgraded together with 383 rural clinics and 81 health clinics. Attention will be given to improve the health of women, children, youths, the aged and disabled, as well as to control infectious diseases and non-infectious diseases like diabetes, heart diseases and cancer.

He said to those who need financial assistance to treat chronic illnesses, the government will provide a ringgit-for-ringgit matching grant and set up a fund with an initial amount of RM100 million for those in the lower income group or for children whose parents earn less than RM600 a month.

He also thanked the public sector employees, including the armed forces and police, for their contributions and sacrifices

"As a token of appreciation to all members of the civil service, the government has agreed to give a one-month bonus or a minimum of RM1,200.

"I hope this will reduce the burden, especially of the lower income group to meet expenses for the coming festivals as well as preparation for their children's schooling," he said.