IPOH, Sept 8 – All the opinions garnered from the Perak Festival of Ideas programme will be channeled to the federal government for consideration in the preparation of the 2018 Budget. Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said those opinions and ideas should be taken into account as they came from the grassroots.
“For me, this idea is very important in every aspect of life because for us to start something it should start with the idea,” he told reporters after witnessing the Smart City Challenge & My Perak Robotic programme here today. The program is part of the ongoing week-long Perak Festival of Ideas, which began on Sept 6, held in conjunction with the two-day Pangkor Dialogue 2017 (PD 2017) scheduled for Sept 11-12.
Elaborating further, Zambry said among the opinions on 2018 Budget he had personally given to Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani was on tax exemption for contributions by any quarters to the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA). The menteri besar said there were exceptions to Corporate Social Responsibility to schools under the Income Tax Act 1967, but it was not comprehensive.
On the Perak Festival of Ideas, Zambry said that over the past three days, more than 4,000 people had flocked to the selected venues of the programme to participate in the activities and to voice out their opinions. As such, he said he was optimistic that the initial target to garner 10,000 or more ideas will be achieved. — Bernama
