By Ma Chee Seng & Natasha Jee
KUCHING: Appointing a representative from Sarawak to sit in the Federal Inland Revenue Board (IRB) would allow the Sarawak government to know how much revenue the state can demand under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution (FC).
Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah pointed out that during the formation of Malaysia and under the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report, there is a provision which states that Sarawak must have a representation in the IRB.
“This is so that we would be in the know of how much taxes are being collected in Sarawak and how much is the country’s revenue.
“The problem is whenever we ask the IRB how much of taxes have been collected in Sarawak, they are not able to tell it because this is privilege information. They will not reveal to us how much has been collected from Sarawak.
“So, now, with our representative in IRB, just like a company whereby during the board of directors’ meeting, everything will be furnished to them.
“Hence, we would be in the know of how much money has been collected through our representative,” he told reporters when asked on the matter after attending the ASEAN Australian Engineering Congress (AAEC) 2022 at TEGAS Digital Village (TDV) here today (July 12).
Abdul Karim added through the representative from Sarawak in IRB, then the state could more or less come up with a formula in the discussion with the federal government for the allocation of the special grant.
“If it is small, then we ask for a smaller amount, if it is big, then I think the state deserves to be given a bigger amount.
“So, that is why, we have not been asking like the way Sabah is requesting. Sabah had been given more than RM100 million.
“It was a big jump… Sabah is very happy, but we (Sarawak) are not excited about it because we want to see the actual amount (of taxes) that is being collected.
“If the amount is small, then we will go for less than RM100 million. But if the amount is big, then we should deserve to be given more than what Sabah is getting,” he said.
Karim said the person chosen to sit on the board must have a financial background.
“You cannot just put in any Tom, Dick and Harry,” he said.
He added that there must be a formula on the distribution of the special grant as it has been too long that the federal government has been ‘okay this is the amount for you’ and ‘we just accept it’.
“We cannot be working out that way. There must be some kind of formula,” he stressed.
Later, when contacted by New Sarawak Tribune on why Sarawak must place a representative in the IRB and not in the Ministry of Finance, Abdul Karim said that the rightful place to know how much tax collected in Sarawak is at IRB and not MOF.
“MOF is a ministry who formulate financial policies. What Sarawak needs is just the information on how much tax is collected in Sarawak and from that information, it can be used as a basis and to form a formula.
“For instance, how many percent should be returned to Sarawak for the development of the state prescribed under Article 112D of the FC or under the federal annual budget.
“We are demanding a ‘seat’ in IRB because that is agreed by the parties when we form Malaysia as one of the safeguards for the state,” said Abdul Karim.
