‘Hundreds of millions lost out on because state never reviewed special grant'

KUCHING: Sarawak lost out on hundreds of millions of ringgit because the state did not review the special grant as allowed under the Federal Constitution, says Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong.

She said under Article 112D of the constitution, the Sarawak government could have reviewed the quantum of the special grant every five years, but did not do so since 1969.

This failure, added Yong, is the fault of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government when it was part of the then-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

“During the BN time, the special allocation has long been maintained at RM16 million per year since 1969 and it had not been reviewed for the past 50 years.

“Even though Article 112D allows us to review it every five years, the Sarawak BN – now GPS – and the previous federal BN government did not review,” she told a press conference here yesterday.

She said the current Pakatan Harapan government has not only doubled the amount to RM32 million, but also pledged to double it again to RM64 million in the next five years.

“This money will be channelled to the GPS state government for them to spend freely for the people. That is why I am puzzled and disappointed with GPS leaders as they are not appreciative of the increment, but instead come up with tarnishing statements that sum was not sufficient.

“My question to them is what has the BN done for the past 50 years?”

On another matter, Yong said she was shocked by news reports that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg had proposed allowing Sabahans to one day enter Sarawak without condition.

Calling the proposal ‘peculiar', she said Sarawak's immigration autonomy is a sacred right which, if compromised, would gradually diminish the state's peace and harmony and also threaten security.

The assemblywoman did, however, agree with the chief minister's suggestion for Sarawak and Sabah to collaborate on setting up an airline, provided it was economically feasible.

She said further and in-depth studies should be undertaken to determine if the joint airline system would be cost-effective and able to boost the region's tourism sector.

Earlier, Yong announced that the ‘Buy Malaysian Products' campaign will be held at town square of Batu Kawah New Township, from tomorrow until Sunday.

The event, organised by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, will include free health screenings for Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipients aged 50 and above together with their spouses, from 9am to 5pm daily.

She said the BSH recipients are to go to PeKa B40 booths (number 75 to 78) for registration and health-screening purposes.