KOTA BARU: The Federal Government has channelled RM400mil in petroleum payments to the Kelantan government for the year 2020 and 2021, says Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

       He said the payment was given directly to the state government based on five per cent of the state’s petroleum revenue.

       Payment of RM200mil was made last year and for 2020, it was also RM200mil, according to Bernama.

       “This payment was made directly and 100% was channelled to the state government based on the current price of petroleum,” he told reporters after a briefing on Budget 2022 with the Kelantan civil servants in Kota Darulnaim, here yesterday.

       Tengku Zafrul said the amount was a multi-fold increase from the amount paid in 2019, which was RM28mil.

       Also present were Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob and his deputy, Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah.

       In another development, Tengku Zafrul said the government had allocated RM2.39bil this year for implementation of 351 development projects in Kelantan, compared to RM1.8bil, for 340 projects last year.

       The projects included the construction of the Palekbang bridge, costing RM250mil, “Mesra Rakyat” projects (RM102mil) and the expansion of the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (RM483mil), the Finance Minister added.