SARAWAK rights activist Lina Soo has trashed the Budget 2019, saying it lacked substance.

The president of the Sarawak Reform Party (Star) said the “big fat zero” Sarawak got despite being a major contributor to the national economy will convince Sarawakians to demand their rights and dues as contained in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA1963).

Soo is incensed with the RM4.346 billion development allocation Sarawak got in the Budget 2019, which she said was mere 0.23% increase from the RM4.336 billion which the state received in the 2018 budget tabled by the past Barisan Nasional government.

In comparison, Sabah, ruled by Pakatan Harapan ally Parti Warisan Sabah, was allocated RM5 billion – an increase of RM867 million from the RM4.133 billion it received in 2018.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement to reporters in parliament yesterday that Petronas has money to pay the federal government a RM30 billion special dividend next year further inflammed Soo, who promptly ask why Sarawak is not getting a sen of this “windfall”.

The prime minister said the dividend was due to the rise in fuel price which was less than US$50 per barrel at the beginning of the year to just below US$80 now.

“Sarawak produces the most expensive oil in the world, which is the darling of refiners for its lightness and extremely low sulfur content.

“With oil price at US$77 per barrel today, and Sarawak producing as much as 800,000 BOE (barrel oil equivalent) per day, this is equivalent to a production of RM250 million every single day, Sarawak which is the goose that lays the golden egg is not getting a sen.

“Instead, RM30 billion of this extraordinary profit will go to the federal government which already receives royalty, dividend and taxes.”

Soo also pointed out that out of the RM341.5 billion allocation in the Budget, Sarawak is getting a mere 1.2% for all its contribution of 10%-12% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) annually.

“At RM115 billion in 2018, an allocation of RM4.3 billion is just 3% of Sarawak’s contribution.

“What is the benefit of remaining in a relationship (in the federation) where what one party gives is all out of gross proportion to what it receives in return?

“Pakatan Harapan’s sweet words of equal partners and promises of development for Sarawak are mere political rhetoric to hoodwink Sarawakians.

“When budget time comes, we are just equal partners to Perlis or Kedah,” Soo said.

She also urged the Sarawak government to take action to compel Petronas to share half of its windfall profits generated from Sarawak. – November 3, 2018.