Budget shows great promise – Elopura rep

SANDAKAN: Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong Ket Kiun said he hoped that Sabah's State Budget for 2019 would benefit the people of Sandakan and Sabah as a whole.

He said that the National and State Budget for 2019 was a historical budget as it was the first one laid out by the new Government.

“So far the budget shows great promise. Among them is the poverty reduction plan, in which RM39 million was allocated to be compared to RM38 million allocated in 2018. We know that the Government is lack of budget, but it still manages to take care of the welfare of those living in poverty.

“In order to execute the poverty reduction plan, the Government will consider collecting 5 percent tax from petroleum. If the Government collects this tax, Sabah will benefit from it because Sabah is a State that produces petroleum and natural gas. There is a possibility that this tax is to be launched in Sabah.

“There is also an increase in scholarships for the youths from RM37 million in 2018 to RM52 million in 2019. This will benefit Sabahans, so that the eligible students will get to pursue higher education without having to worry about the fees,” he said.

Chong also said that the nongovernment schools would also have allocation from the budget.

“The Government will give allocation to Christian schools as well as private schools and independent Chinese schools. RM15 million was allocated for this to be compared to RM12 million that was allocated in 2018.

“I believe that these schools will have brighter future under the new Government,” he said.

Chong added that it was a challenging task for the Government to set the State Budget for Sabah as the Government had to bear the debts of the previous Government.

“Next year, Sabah will have to reduce its allocation for every state Government departmental funds because the Government has to bear the debts left by the previous Government. Next year will be a challenging year.

“However, for the first six months of ruling of the new Government, a few promises in the manifesto were achieved. I hope that the rakyat will work together with the Government for Sabah's better future,” he added.