SARAWAK government has submitted a formula to Putrajaya for reviewing the special grant under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution to ensure that the special grants to the state can be distributed fairly and equitably.
Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63, State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali told the august House that the distribution of grants should be based on a reasonable and pragmatic formula.
Deputy Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Dr Annuar Rapa’ee said a total of 455 dilapidated schools in Sarawak have been identified for upgrading projects by the Ministry of Education from 2017 until 2022. Out of the total, 245 of these projects have been completed.
He said this during the question-and-answer session yesterday.
Deputy Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Datuk Liwan Lagang said the 4G coverage for populated areas in Song district has increased to 32.04 per cent in the first quarter of this year as compared with 26.02 per cent coverage as of the fourth quarter of 2021.
GPS Pujut assemblyman Adam Yii when debating the motion of appreciation on Yang di-Pertua Negeri’s opening address, said Miri has one of the highest squatter populations in Sarawak due to the job opportunities available there.
“Over the years, our Sarawak government has made many attempts to resettle them. However, they are mostly rural-urban migration,” he said, adding that about 690 households of squatters needed to be resettled.
GPS Ngemah assemblyman Anyi Jana said more telecommunication towers need to be erected in his constituency as there was no telecommunication service provider willing to offer coverage in his constituency, especially in the remote areas.
He added that telco service or internet coverage play a key role in this digital era.
Opposition leader, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Bawang Assan assemblyman Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh urged the state government to re-assess the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
The strategy, he said, failed to show how Sarawak’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate rocketed to an average of eight per cent per year when its GDP growth has been below five per cent per annum for the past few years.
“GPS targets to double the size of our state’s economy from RM136 billion in 2019 to RM282 billion by 2030. However, the calculation whether by simple or compound growth rate of eight per cent per annum over 2019 to 2030 amounting to RM282 billion is simply too far-fetched and may not be tenable,” he said.
Wong also questioned the state government if Petronas has fully paid the state sales tax accruing from the oil and gas business in 2021 as well as how much of Sarawak’s reserves has been deposited with the state-owned Development Bank of Sarawak (DBOS).
DAP Padungan assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen said Malaysia’s house price-to-income ratio hit 4.7 times in 2020 which is categorised as “seriously unaffordable”. While Sarawak’s house price-to-income ratio in the same year hit an alarming 7.1 times, which is “severely unaffordable”.
“In a more layman’s term, if it takes a house purchaser in other parts of Malaysia 20 years to repay his housing loan, it would take a house purchaser in Sarawak 30 years to repay his housing loans,” he said.
Chong, who is also Sarawak DAP chairman, said, as a result, only 12.9 per cent of households in Sarawak find the house prices affordable while nationally, 25 per cent of households find house prices affordable.
“Given the household income of Sarawakians, house prices in Sarawak are considered the most expensive and unaffordable in the whole of Malaysia,” he added.
