Wong (centre) goes through his ministerial speech with Assistant Minister of E-Commerce Datuk Naroden Majais (right) and the ministry’s permanent secretary Kamri Affendi. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: The federal government has been urged to honour and fulfil all obligations and responsibilities as stipulated under the Federal Constitution and Malaysia Agreement 1963 in allocating federal funds to Sarawak as the state deserves a bigger share.
Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said Sarawak was not given due consideration in the 2019 National Budget despite the state’s tremendous contribution to the national economy and federal coffers.
He said the 2019 National Budget saw Sarawak only getting RM4.346 billion out of the total federal development expenditure of RM54.7 billion – only 7.94 per cent – which was a mere increase of RM10 million as compared to the previous year.
“In fact, the share of allocation for Sarawak in the 2019 federal development budget is actually a drop as compared to 2018. This is despite the promise made by Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak that the states of Sarawak and Sabah will get 30 per cent of the federal allocation.
“The (2019) annual federal allocation for Sarawak is obviously not enough for the state to bring its level of development to be on par with that of Peninsular Malaysia.
“The (RM10 million) increase is so negligible, taking into consideration the state’s huge and challenging task ahead to develop into a high-income economy,” said Wong in his ministerial winding-up speech during the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here yesterday.
In the 2018 National Budget, Sarawak was allocated a sum of RM4.336 billion out of RM46 billion of the total federal development budget, or 9.46 per cent.
Wong reiterated that Putrajaya ought to recognise that Sarawak’s economic growth has been contributing positively to the national gross domestic product (GDP) as a whole.
“Very importantly, Sarawak has been amongst the largest contributors to the federal coffers in terms of revenue collection, particularly from oil and gas revenue and collection of taxes.
“On this account, Sarawak definitely deserves a bigger share of the federal allocation. We, therefore, strongly urge the federal government to honour and fulfil all obligations and responsibilities as stipulated under the Federal Constitution and Malaysia Agreement 1963,” he said.
He pointed out that the federal government has thus far fallen short in its delivery to the people of Sarawak in terms of development and vital services such as healthcare and education, all of which are pivotal for a better quality of life.
“We can no longer allow the people of Sarawak, particularly the rural community, to continue suffering as a result of the slow pace of development arising from years of inadequate federal funding,” he added.
Wong cited the dire straits of schools in the state, particularly in rural areas, as a case where urgent attention and immediate action was required of the federal government to ensure students are able to study in a better and safer environment.
“We are now embarking on our self-determining efforts to transform and propel Sarawak’s economic development to uplift the state’s economic status through a more aggressive development allocation, as tabled in the 2019 State Budget,” he said.