KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Negara has passed the Supplementary Supply (2021) Bill 2022 for the additional expenditure for services in 2021 amounting to RM8,413.5mil.

       The Bill was passed with a unanimous vote after the third reading by Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah after being debated by five senators.

       Bernama reported that Mohd Shahar, when winding up the debate on the Bill, said the request did not mean the expenditure was in excess of what was approved or additional requirements were sought due to insufficient allocation. He said, instead, it was more to allocate extra funds for certain matters that required a higher allocation than originally anticipated.

       “Among them was the urgent need for subsidy allocation due to the increase in world crude oil prices and the increase in world palm oil commodity prices in 2021. Therefore, the government had to bear the increase in subsidies and the allocation approved was not enough to cover it.

       “The government also needed expenses to repair infrastructure affected by the floods,” he said.