Wong fears voters’ backlash if PH manifesto not fulfilled
KUCHING: Padungan assemblyman Wong King Wei warned the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government that it risks a backlash from Sarawakians if the PH does not fulfilled its election manifesto.
“Majority of the people may understand if some of the election pledges are to be postponed in fulfilling due to the constraint of the national coffer. Many of them may also be accommodative if due to the impossibility in executing some of the election pledges and secondary policies are put in place as replacement,” said Wong of the Sarawak Democratic Action Party ( DAP).
He feared that PH may face the wrath of voters in the next state election which must be called latest by the first quarter of 2021.
“The promise of 20 per cent oil royalty is receiving high expectation by the people of Sarawak, in particular. Unless there is a justifiable reason, fulfillment of such promise is not to be compromised.
“The promise of 20 per cent oil royalty does not come to place without due consideration. The internal PH has undergone thorough discussions and debates. It is a package of promise, in which, 20 pe rcent oil royalty are to be given to Sarawak together with the autonomous rights in education and health. With the additional oil royalty and 50 per cent of taxes collected in Sarawak, Sarawak would be able to finance our own educational and health expenditure, with surplus as estimated,” he said.
At the same time, he said he is confident that the PH will be able to lift the expenditure burden from the Federal Government if the big chunk of revenue is given to Sarawak.
The PH reply in Parliament yesterday was merely talking about the effect of giving away 20 per cent oil royalty without taking into account of the devolution of power in education and health, which will take huge expenditure off the Federal Government, Wong said.
“My second point, there is a need for the Federal Government to disclose the formula in calculating the existing 5 per cent oil royalty and the amount that proposed 20 per cent net profit will derive. This is to ease the comparison.”
“We have to bear in mind that, trustworthiness is one of the vital pillars of any government. Without that, we are not going to last long in power,” Wong warned.