SIBU: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Bawang Assan branch chairman Robert Lau Hui Yew hopes that the upcoming Budget 2020 to be tabled by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government on Oct 11 will be favourable for Sarawak and Sabah to reflect their status as equal partners.
“There must be a fairer distribution of the development funds for Sarawak and Sabah. We cannot be treated as one of 13 states when it comes to allocation of development funds. Sarawak cannot be treated as an equal to Perlis or Kedah.”
“The oil royalty for Sarawak must be increased to 20 per cent while 50 per cent of the tax collected from Sarawak must be returned to it,” he said yesterday when asked by New Sarawak Tribune to comment on Budget 2020.
Lau, who is also deputy chairman of Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC), hopes the Reduction of income and corporate tax will be included in the budget.
With the economy slowing down, the government should assist the people and companies by reducing the taxes.
With that, there would be more money in the packets of the people for the living expenses and for companies to invest, he added.
He also hoped to see a reduction of stamp duties and Real Property Gain Tax for land transactions under Budget 2020.
“The increment of these duties and tax during the last budget had adversely affected the property market and did not justify the revenue raised from these sources.
“Apart from that, I hope, under Budget 2020, permits for imported cars will be abolished in order to reduce the cost of cars and get our local car producers to compete on equal footing with international brands,” Lau said.
Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting hopes to see the implementation of more infrastructure projects in the state under Budget 2020.
“I also wish to see the upgrading of more hospitals as most hospitals in the major towns of the state are more than 30 years old; even parking has become an issue.
“I hope more secondary schools will also be built so that there will only be single session schools,” he said.
Meanwhile, senior lecturer of Malaysia Cooperative Institute Sarawak Zone Mohamad Suandi Mortadza hopes that Budget 2020 focuses on the B40 group, the villagers and the disabled.
He also hopes the budget will boost the cooperative development and entrepreneurship for the needy Bumiputera community. Besides more training courses for civil servants, he looks to increased bonuses or public service allowance under Budget 2020.
Sibu Sikh Temple president Jagjiwan Singh hopes, under Budget 2020, the implementation of more basic infrastructure and facilities in Sarawak will be expedited and that there will be better air connectivity within Sarawak.
