PH to look into ‘shortcomings’ in budgetary allocation for Sarawak

KUCHING: Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) will look into the "shortcomings" in the allocations that saw Sarawak and Sabah receiving less than 20 per cent of the total national development expenditure in the 2019 Budget tabled on Friday, said Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen.

Chong, who is also Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, said the matter would also be raised in the National Steering Committee as well as Technical Committee to review and streamline the Malaysia Agreement (MA63) by PH representatives from the two states.

"We will call a 'spade, a spade' and there are some 'shortcomings"...in the budgetary allocation, we want to ensure Sarawak and Sabah get 30 per cent but because of a lot of financial constrains it could not be done," he said.

He disclosed this to reporters after the opening of the 18th Sarawak State Ordinary Convention 2018 by DAP National Organising Secretary Anthony Loke here yesterday.

In the 2019 Budget, Sarawak received an allocation of RM4.3 billion as development funding while Sabah was allocated RM5 billion.

However, Chong assured that Sarawak PH would strive to ensure that Sabah and Sarawak get 30 per cent of the total national development expenditure in future as pledged in PH’s manifesto. Bernama