IF Singapore can leave Malaysia, so can Sabah and Sarawak, warned Azis Jamman.
 
“Don’t blame us if the movement to leave Malaysia grows louder,” said the Sepanggar MP during the 2022 Budget debate in the Dewan Rakyat today.
 
“While we started our independence through the United Nations, we can also end our struggle through the UN,” said the Warisan leader.
 
He said Putrajaya is worse than the British colonists.
 
“In the past, colonists only took our resources but Putrajaya even takes our young people to send them to different states to work as teachers, security guards and factory workers.”
 
On another note, Azis said that Putrajaya continues to misallocate development funds despite acknowledging that Sabah and Sarawak are behind their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia.
 
“From 2019 to 2020, Sabah’s share of development funds has either declined or remained stagnant. Although Sabah was allocated an average of RM5 billion from 2019 to 2022, hardly 40% was used.
 
“Take last year, for instance. Sabah was allocated RM216 million for electricity but only RM91 million was spent. On roads and bridges, only RM127 million out of the RM494 million allocation was used.
 
“For water, only RM6.7 million was spent despite an allocation of RM350 million,” said Azis.
 
While the budget announcements give the impression that Sabah and Sarawak are  allocated a lot of money, most of it are not utilised, he added.
 
“What then happens to this unused budget? It is time Putrajaya lets the state government manage the funds on its own,” said the former deputy home minister. 
 
Azis also took the Ministry of Finance to task for saying that more than 20% of the development budget for 2022 have been allocated for Sabah and Sarawak.
 
“Sabah has been allocated RM5.2 billion while Sarawak is given RM4.6 billion. How is that 20% of the development budget of RM75 billion?” asked the lawmaker.
 
Azis is the second Sabah MP to raise the issue of secession during this year’s Budget debate.
 
Yesterday, STAR president and Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister 2 Jeffrey Kitingan told Parliament that some 60% of East Malaysians want Sabah and Sarawak to leave Malaysia. – November 9, 2021.