Penang asked to continue efforts to uplift Islam

The Yang Dipertua Negeri of Penang, Abdul Rahman Abbas, hopes that the state government would continue with efforts to uplift Islam.

He said various programmes, projects and activities could be implemented for the purpose.

“The allocation for Islamic affairs for 2011 of RM33.33 million should be spent prudently,” he said when opening the first meeting of the fourth term of the Penang Legislative Assembly today.

Apart from that, he said the federal government had approved an allocation of RM36 million for the construction of the Penang Syariah Court Complex and that he was briefed on the design of the complex by the Public Works Department.

He said the tender for the project would open in June and the offer letter to the selected contractor would be issued in October.

Abdul Rahman said besides the Syariah Court complex, other development projects to be implemented included expansion of the Mengkuang Dam, involving cost of RM1.2 billion in the form of federal grant.

“Work on the project is expected to start in June this year and scheduled for completion in 2016,” he added.

He said Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) had also allocatted RM236 million for the implementation 230 electricity supply projects.

Abdul Rahman thanked the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) for approving a RM57 million allocation to upgrade the infrastructure at the Perai Industrial Area and the Seberang Perai municipality.

The project is expected to be ready in August, he added.

– Bernama