Newly minted Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali said he plans to increase allocations for development in the state budget, to be tabled in the third week of November.

He said he plans to reduce operational expenditure and increase expenditure on development proportionally, saying the latter cannot be compromised.

Making a comparison with the national budget, Azmin noted that it was heavy on operations expenditure.

"What happened at the federal level, the operational costs made up 80 percent of the total budget expenditure while development costs only consist of 20 percent.

 

"This will have impact on the ground," he said during a turun padang programme in the Gombak district today.

 

As such, he said, he plans to adjust the ratio between operational and development costs for his state budget.

"Ever since I was with the backbencher's club, I have said that the operational costs cannot be too high that it compromises development costs," he said.

'Embarassed with high salaries'

As one of his first tasks as menteri besar, Azmin said he decided to reduce the allowance of the menteri besar, speaker, deputy speaker and executive councillors to help reduce the operational budget.

 

"Our salary (and allowances) are too high that I cannot face the rakyat as they are (suffering) from (high) living costs," he said.

 

He added that the state executive councillors will discuss the adjustment of the expenditure ratios of the Selangor Budget 2015.

The 2014 state budget - tabled last November by former MB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim - allocated 33.7 percent or RM624.2mil of the total RM1.85 billion budget for development costs.

The operational costs consisted of 66.2 percent or RM1.22 billion.

As education and housing are the two main thrusts in state development, Azmin stated that he will come up with more scholarships, and affordable and middle cost housing for the rakyat.

Azmin also said that he will fill in the 55 local councillors’ posts through party quota and not newspaper advertisements, as announced by Khalid.
 
Last month, Khalid announced that he  planned  to hire new councillors through advertisement in newspapers.

'Who is Faekah?'

 

In responding to Khalid's recruitment strategy, Azmin said while it may have been announced by Khalid, the new state executive council has yet to decide on it.
 
On the post of state economic advisor Anwar Ibrahim, Azmin said the claim that Khalid had sacked Anwar was untrue. 
 
"Who is Faekah? I don't know (her)," fumed Azmin when asked about the statement by Khalid's former political secretary. 
Azmin said Anwar's advisory position remained unchanged based on the minutes of exco meeting dated Sept 22, chaired by Khalid himself.
"The meeting was chaired by Khalid, not Faekah," said Azmin, as he brushed off further questions.
He, however, denied he overturned Khalid's decision. 
 
"It's not a revert; don't change my words,” said Azmin.

In a final parting shot, Khalid had closed the state economic adviser's office on his last day at work.
 
Azmin, after he was appointed, retained  his party boss Anwar as state economic adviser for which the latter is paid RM1 a month.

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