2021 Budget to focus on enhancing education, entrepreneurship, healthcare - Tengku Zafrul

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said empowering youths will also be a key element in the budget's formulation.

"I believe that when youths are empowered, they can harness technological advancements and digitalisation, and come up with innovative solutions to address societal challenges, as well as achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals," he said.

Tengku Zafrul was addressing a town hall session with the Selangor Youth Community here today in conjunction with the 2021 Budget Tour.

The event was attended by 150 youths, as well as Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj.

The 2021 Budget, to be tabled in Parliament on Nov 6, will be framed across four broad themes -- caring for the people, steering the economy, sustainable living, and enhancing public service delivery.

Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said as unemployment has become an issue, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has allocated RM2 billion to reskill and upskill Malaysian workers.

"As of now, we have utilised RM500 million. What is important for us now is the end results," he said.

The unemployment rate increased to 5.3 per cent in May 2020 from 5.0 per cent in April 2020, while the number of unemployed persons rose by 47,300 to 826,100 individuals, according to the Statistics Department of Malaysia.

However, the department has noted that following the gradual economic reopening, more Malaysians have returned to work except for certain sectors such services and tourism that could not operate at full capacity due to restrictions and closure of international borders.