KUCHING: Non-profit organisation, PurpleLily, has welcomed the recently tabled 2026 MADANI Budget, describing it as a positive step towards strengthening Sarawak’s development through higher allocations for infrastructure, healthcare and digital connectivity.
The organisation said strategic projects, such as the Pan Borneo Highway, rural road development, and the expansion of Mobile Community Services, are expected to improve the wellbeing of communities, especially those in the State’s rural areas.
“However, PurpleLily noted that the budget lacked sufficient emphasis on social and community wellbeing, particularly in areas affecting vulnerable groups,” PurpleLily said in a statement.
The organisation highlighted the need for greater support for senior citizens, including tax incentives for individuals caring for elderly parents and assistance to cope with rising care costs.
They also called for more caregiver-friendly initiatives to ease the burden on low- and middle-income families, particularly women who often shoulder caregiving responsibilities.
“It is important to ensuring that the benefits of national development are inclusive and gender-responsive,” PurpleLily said.
This, they said, could be achieved by creating more economic and training opportunities for rural women entrepreneurs, enhancing health and welfare services focusing on women, mothers, children and the elderly, and collecting gender- and age-disaggregated data to better assess policy impact.
“We believe that physical development must go hand in hand with inclusive social policies, only then can the 2026 MADANI Budget truly serve as a catalyst for equitable and balanced wellbeing for the people of Sarawak,” they added.
