Abdul Karim when met by reporters – Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING (July 12): Sarawak’s representative in the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) must be someone who has an accounting or finance background to keep abreast on its revenue, said Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
“We cannot just put in any Tom, Dick and Harry who doesn’t know (about the state’s revenues),” he said when met by reporters after attending the Asean Australian Engineering Congress (AAEC) 2022 held at Tegas Digital Village in Samajaya High Tech Park here yesterday afternoon.
On July 9, Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg announced that the state will have its representative in LHDN, stemming from negotiations for the special grant to the state under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution.
He said this is done to better understand the current financial situation of the country at the federal level and also to be in the know of the state’s revenue.
On July 11, Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali announced that Abang Johari had submitted a name for the post of board member of LHDN – however she was unable to disclose the name of the person.
With the representation in the LHDN, Abdul Karim said the state government will be in the loop on the state’s revenues, and subsequently the state government will come up with a formula in its discussion with the federal government on how much the state will receive its annual special grant.
“We have been asking for lots of development funds but then, with Sarawak being a big state unlike the other states in Malaysia, we should be given more. So that is one of the reasons why we want to see some representation.
“Under our IGC (report) when we negotiated for the formation of Malaysia (in 1963), there is a provision whereby the states must have representation in LHDN. At least we would be in the know of how much has been collected in Sarawak. The problem is when we ask LHDN how much of taxes collected from Sarawak, they are not willing or able to furnish this.
“Sabah has been given more than RM100 million (by the federal government) for its annual special grant – it was a really big jump – from RM26 million to more than RM100 million. They are very happy but we are not excited about it. If the revenue amount collected (from Sarawak) is small, then we will go for less than RM100 million. However, if the amount is big, then we deserve to be given more,” he said.