MOHD Shafie Apdal said he had expected a much bigger special allowance for Sabah under Budget 2020.

The RM53.4 million announced by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng today fell below expectations, said the chief minister.

“Sabah has a 40% revenue entitlement as stated in the federal constitution. But since 1974, the state has been getting only RM26.7 million.

“I had expected some adjustment, and my calculation was about RM1 billion a year.

“But yes, the economy is not healthy and the country is saddled with debt. The RM53.4 million, which is an increase from the RM26.7 million previously, isn’t big, but can still help Sabah,” he told reporters after the tabling of Budget 2020.

Shafie said he welcomed the RM5.2 billion federal allocation for Sabah.

Being the country’s second-biggest state and third largest in terms of population, Sabah deserves a huge budget, he added.

Under Budget 2020, Sabah will get RM5.2 billion from the total of RM56 billion, with Sarawak getting RM4.4 billion and the peninsula, RM46 billion.

Lim said Sabah will receive a RM53.4 million special allowance as provided for under Article 112D of the federal constitution, double the amount paid by the previous Barisan Nasional government.

He also announced that the figure will be doubled in the next five years to RM108 million. – October 11, 2019.