KUCHING: The pre-budget announcement by Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak, a week before Malaysian Budget 2019 announced by the PH federal government, is a shameless lie by PH Sarawak.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said in Malaysia Budget 2019 announced two weeks ago the allocation of RM4.35 billion for 2019 was marginally larger than those of the previous years.
“However, this is a major disappointment after the big pre-Budget announcement by Pakatan Harapan Sarawak, a week before, that the allocation for Sabah and Sarawak would increase from 25 percent to 30 percent of the total allocation in the Malaysian Budget.
“In fact, the allocation to Sarawak is only 7.9 percent for 2019. This is a shameless lie by Pakatan Harapan Sarawak to falsify and mislead Sarawakians,” he stressed.
Johari said PH had also defended the cancellation of many projects for Sarawak on account of not being budgeted for, while the Malaysian Budget was being prepared.
“It is clear that PH Sarawak lie and they have no say in the federal government,” Johari pointed out in his winding up speech at the august House yesterday.
“This is why I have resolved that we shall trust only ourselves to undertake Sarawak-centric policies which are good for Sarawak.
“We must be prepared to chart our own future for the sake of our children and grandchildren. We in Sarawak have to decide our own fate. Only Sarawakians can take care of Sarawak,” he stressed.
Johari said due to that reason, he announced a record Development Budget of RM9.1 billion for 2019 for Sarawak out of the state own resources on the first day of DUN.
“It is time that we seriously begin to develop the infrastructure of our economy for future growth based on our own and foreign investment, hard work and ingenuity of our people, “ he said.
Earlier, Johari said that for the record in the 53 years since the First Malaysia Plan in 1966 to 2018, the total cumulative federal development allocation for Sarawak was about RM79 billion or a meagre 7.3 percent of the total cumulative allocation of RM1.1 trillion for the whole of Malaysia.
“During that same period, the Sarawak government had allocated RM80 billion for development spending within Sarawak,” he added.
