The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly today unanimously passed two Supplementary Supply Bills involving a total of RM681,491,777 for expenditures that were not covered in the state's budget for 2020.

The bills, tabled by state Deputy Chief Minister I and Second Finance Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, were the Supplementary Supply (2019) Bill 2020 involving an amount of RM299,171,014 and the Supplementary Supply (2020) Bill 2020 for RM382,320,763.

"This additional expenditure is to meet the cost of various ministries and departments for which funds were not provided for or insufficiently provided for," he said.

The two bills were passed without debate by the 76 members at the one-day sitting, from which five assemblymen were absent.

Earlier, House Speaker Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar, in his opening remarks, said he had granted leave of absence to five of its members, namely Dr Annuar Rapaee who is the state assemblyman for Nangka, Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh (Bawang Assan), Datuk Ranum Mina (Opar), Johnical Rayong Ngipa (Engkilili) and Datuk Tiong Thai King (Dudong).

The State Assembly sitting, which lasted about one and a half hours, was held without the usual opening ceremony and address by Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud.

Mohd Asfia said the sitting had to proceed as such since it was held during a challenging time where health precautionary measures of the highest level had to be implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19.

"Like the rest of the world, the people of Sarawak are struck with an epidemic; on top of that they are inflicted with a pandemic that eerily sweeps across the world with tsunami (-like) fatalities," he added.

-- BERNAMA