AFTER seeing Sabah and Sarawak receive only RM9.8 billion in development funds under the RM332 billion Budget 2022, a former Sabah assemblyman is asking when the two Borneo territories’ allocations will match with those for the peninsula.

Sabah was allocated RM5.2 billion while Sarawak will receive RM4.6 billion in the budget tabled by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz yesterday.

Former Petagas rep James Ligunjang said, since 1963, alluding to the year the federation of Malaysia was formed, the focus of development allocations has always been in favour of Malaya despite the promise made by the first prime minister of the country, Tunku Abdul Rahman, in his speech during the formation of Malaysia.

Acting Sarawak PKR chief Abang Zulkifli Abang Engkeh also asked a similar question.

He said the amount is similar to what Sarawak has been getting during the rule of the Barisan Nasional.

Tengku Zafrul, however, said the development allocations for water, electricity and road infrastructure as well as health and education facilities, had been increased.

Abang Zulkifli also asked why Budget 2022 increased “only slightly” from Budget 2021, despite the fact that the country is still battling the Covid-19 crisis.

The RM332 billion Budget 2022 is just RM9.6 billion bigger than the RM322.5 billion Budget 2021.

He also pointed out that farmers seemed to be left out of Budget 2022, as it is silent on whether farmers would continue to receive state subsidised fertilisers.

Meanwhile, Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii questioned why the special grants to Sarawak is still at RM16 million in Budget 2022.

The grant is a mandatory provision under Article 122 (d) of the Federal Constitution.

In a posting on his Facebook page, Yii said in Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Budget 2020, the government doubled the RM16 million grant, which had been allocated since Malaysia was formed in 1963, to RM32 million.

That amount, he said, was to have been raised further to RM64 million in the next five years.

That promise never became a reality because the PH government collapsed in February 2020, when it lost its parliamentary majority after 26 of its MPs defected.

The amount was first reduced to RM16 million by the Perikatan Nasional government in Budget 2021.

Bobby William, president of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDS), said the Budget 2022 was “Malay centric” and the Sarawak legislative assembly should “be brave enough” to reject outright the RM4.6 billion development allocations.

He said the budget is “unjust as it is an insult to right-thinking Sarawakians, in particular the Dayaks”.

“The allocation, purportedly for Bumiputeras, is clearly meant for the Malays. Similarly, other allocations under ‘Keluarga’ are for the Malays,” he said.

“PBDS does not expect Bantuan Keluarga of RM8.2 billion will be made available for the benefit of the poor natives of Sarawak.”

William said if precedence is anything to go by, the billions in allocations to “Bumiputera education” is not expected to be dispensed for the benefit of the Dayaks.

“PBDS does not believe any Gabungan Parti Sarawak Dayak assemblymen, MPs or senators will fight for their community for any, or part, of the allocations under the label Bumiputra.” – October 30, 2021.