Bumburing: How about Lain-lain communities of Sabah and Sarawak?
KIULU: Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) president Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Bumburing has called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to explain to the people what he meant by describing the 2018 national budget as the “Mother of All Budgets”.
“How can this be the Mother of All Budgets when it is a deficit budget?” asked the Tamparuli assemblyman.
Bumburing pointed out that the government is looking to spend RM280.25 billion against the expected revenue of RM239.86 billion with a deficit of RM40.39 billion.
“Can Najib explain where he would get the RM40.39 billion from? Also out of the RM280.25 billion, RM234.25 billion is for operation while RM46 billion for development.
“How is the government able to manage its fiscal expenditure when very little money is spent on development which would have been the source of government revenue?
“For us the KDM (Kadazandusun Murut) community, we must look at one pertinent issue that we know is not only overlooked by Najib but blatantly disregarded by Kuala Lumpur,” Bumburing said.
He pointed out that until today, in the book of the federal leaders in Kuala Lumpur, there are only four racial categories that comprise the people of Malaysia. Perhaps, a fifth category for the Orang Asli in Malaya.
These four categories are Malay, Indian, Chinese and Lain-lain. RM1,705 billion has been allocated for the Indian and Chinese community under the Kesejahteraan Masyarakat Cina dan India.
This amount includes RM1.5 billion to be distributed to the Indian community to be invested in Amanah Saham 1Malaysia. On top of that seven per cent intake in the private institutions of higher learning (IPTA) and civil service would be reserved for Indians, he claimed.
“Meanwhile, the assistance provided for the Orang Asli community has also been clearly defined totalling RM110 million for food program for 5,000 Orang Asli students and for Pembangunan Bersepadu Perkampungan Orang Asli. Besides that, every Orang Asli parent will stand to receive RM3,000 as educational assistance to prepare for children entering IPTA.
“Now the Mother of all Questions, if I may. How about the Lain-lain communities of Sabah and Sarawak, the native minority? Or to be more specific, the Kadazandusun, Murut, Rungus, Bajau and those other communities of Sabah that are forced to list themselves as Lainlain?
“Are we again, overlooked by Kuala Lumpur? Our community is also lagging far behind in all aspects of development, be it socio-economic or culturaleconomic development. And our community also needs attention if not special attention from the federal government,” he said.
“This budget shows that Upko and PBS, the two parties in BN which are supposed to fight for what is rightfully accorded and guaranteed to us under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and especially carved into the Batu Sumpah Peringatan Malaysia, are no longer and can no longer rightfully represent our community in a government that is dominated by Umno who continues to disregard the guarantees given to Sabah as provided for in MA63,” he claimed when officiating at the opening of PCS Kiulu division office on Sunday.
“Looking at the budget allocation for Sabah, I would have hoped that Najib would have honoured the socalled memorandum (whatever its contents was) submitted by Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan personally to the Prime Minister through the so-called MySabah committee headed by Datuk Seri Anifah Aman sometime back regarding the demand by Sabahans for 40 per cent portion of the total revenue collected by the federal government to be given to Sabah as provided for in the Federal Constitution.
“Sabahans are following closely what MySabah, Jeffrey Kitingan and Anifah Aman can do together for the sake of, according to Anifah, Sabah’s future generation. I was told that Anifah Aman claims to be able to whisper personally to Najib on the issue of Sabah’s rights, especially on the 40 per cent nett revenue.
“But Sabahans will have to continuously be disappointed on this matter as Najib’s 2018 Budget still doesn’t show anything at all if any certain percentage of the net revenue collected in Sabah by the federal government will be return to Sabah,” he said.
On PCS Kiulu, Bumburing disclosed that discussion on seat allocations among the likeminded opposition parties are ongoing, especially between PCS, PWS and DAP.
“We have indicated our seriousness and commitment to put a PCS candidate in Kiulu. With the official launching of the Kiulu PCS Divisional office today, I can foresee that PCS Kiulu will be in good position to be better prepared for the 14th general election.
“And the strategic location of this office enables PCS and its local leaders to be more accessible to the Kiulu community at large. With almost all the 17 polling district leaders in Kiulu receiving their letters of appointment today, and together with them are the locality leaders who also received their letter of appointment, I can assuredly say PCS Kiulu is more than ready for 14th general election,” he said.