Tiang: What does 30 pct development expenditure mean?
KUCHING: The proposed 30 per cent development expenditure for Sarawak and Sabah in the upcoming National Budget 2019, to be tabled this Friday does not go down well with SUPP Youth chief Michael Tiang.
He said Pakatan Harapan ( PH) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, who mentioned this recently, should instead state clearly the specific amount to be received by each state, and not percentage.
“What does Chong means by 30 per cent? I want him to translate it into ringgit,” Tiang told a press conference at SUPP headquarters here yesterday.
Tiang was commenting on the statement made by Chong, the Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs, on Monday saying PH Sarawak would strive to ensure that the National Budget 2019 would include the 30 per cent development expenditure for Sarawak and Sabah, as promised in its election manifesto.
Tiang said that Chong should emulate Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg who clearly stated the amount; RM2.8 billion for water, RM2.3 billion for electricity, and RM6 billion for roads construction across Sarawak.
He also said it was ‘ hilarious’ for Chong to repeat the statement of Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng that the PH federal government was looking for a formula for revenue- sharing among the states.
“Again, I want to ask Chong - what does he mean by revenuesharing? Does he know what he is talking about? I cannot find such words ( formula) in the Federal Constitution.
“When we ( Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak) formed Malaysia in 1963, we all worked within the Inter- Governmental Committee ( IGC) to include Sarawak and Sabah special rights and position.”
He went on to say that it was the duty of the federal government to collect taxes on Sarawak’s behalf.
“Yes, they ( PH government) can collect taxes on our behalf, but that does not mean we give them the rights to keep our money. We want the federal government to follow the Federal Constitution to pay us revenue, and not to share with us,” he said.
He also touched on Article 109 and Article 112C of the Federal Constitution, which allows the federal government to provide grants to each state, adding the federal government should stop making excuses for not providing grants to Sarawak.
Tiang also said Chong saying the Sarawak government could not manage fund received from the federal government as a ‘ joke’, stressing that Sarawak’s RM31 billion reserve indicated prudence in managing its finance.
He hoped that Chong, being in the federal cabinet, would tell his ‘ masters in Malaya’ how much Sarawak was entitled to funds after contributing significantly to the national coffer.
SUPP Youth secretary Milton Foo, who was also present at the conference, meanwhile urged Chong to fight for the rights of Sarawakians, and not as an ‘agent’ of Lim Guan Eng and other ministers.
“Be yourself. Be proud of being Sarawakians, and speak on their behalf. Go to the cabinet and parliament and speak for Sarawakians,” Foo said, and urged Chong to focus his effort and time with his own ministry.
He also challenged Chong to list down items whose prices have gone down since becoming a deputy minister. He also hoped that Chong would address the difference in prices of goods, including cars, between Sarawak and peninsula.