THE amount of land and revenue Putrajaya has gained from Sarawak is not commensurate with the federal funding for the state as laid out in Budget 2020, said Abang Johari Openg.

The chief minister said Sarawak should not be compared with states in the peninsula, as it is vast and has greater infrastructure needs.

“If we study the size of Sarawak and the natural resources it has given to Putrajaya, of course we are not happy with the allocation. We cannot be compared with Perlis or Malacca, which are small states.

“If you are a big state, you definitely need more money for infrastructure,” he said in Kota Kinabalu today.

Abang Johari is paying a visit to his Sabah counterpart, Mohd Shafie Apdal, following the latter’s trip to Sarawak recently.

The Sarawak chief minister said Putrajaya should disburse funds according to each state’s size and contribution to the national coffers.

Under Budget 2020, Sarawak and Sabah receive 17.1% of the RM56 billion development budget. Sabah is allocated RM53.4 million, and Sarawak, RM34 million.

Sarawak has the largest gas reserves in the country at 56%, and the second-largest oil reserves at 34%. – October 14, 2019.