State hopes federal govt will continue providing financial support

BY NATASHA JEE & ALEXANDRA LORNA
 
KUCHING: The Sarawak government is hoping that the federal government will not reduce its allocation channel to the state following the state’s high income status by the World Bank.
 
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said with the recent acknowledgment of Sarawak as a high-income state, he hoped the federal government would still continue to provide financial support.
 
“The World Bank’s formula calls for the withdrawal of some incentives once you reach a certain income; this is what I am afraid of as we are a high-income state.
 
“So, I hope this won’t be the case — the federal government must not withdraw their allocation to Sarawak because we still have plenty to do, especially to raise the income of the rural people,” he said.
 
He said this in a press conference after chairing the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) Presidential Council Meeting held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) last night (July 15).
 
Elaborating, he said the calculation of income is based on the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, and in this case, Sarawak was classified as a high-income state.
 
“With this, we want to increase our household income. Hence, what we are doing now is that we are going to have a policy where we will distribute the wealth to our people through the various projects under the Post-COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
 
“This means that our ultimate objective is to upgrade the economic as well as social status of our rural people by giving them basic infrastructure as well as providing talent development to the young ones so that Sarawak can still push ahead, thereby increasing the household income of the rural community,” he said.
 
Abang Johari, who is also the Finance and New Economy Minister, added that he has requested the federal Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to look into the measurement of poverty and wealth, stressing that the findings should be based on assets rather than income.
 
“We were rated as poor because many are still registered in the e-Kasih.
 
“The question is, how are you going to compromise between those who received assistance under e-Kasih but can afford to purchase vehicles with cash?” said the premier.
 
Hence, he said, the state government is going to conduct its own survey on the level of poverty in the state.
 
Earlier in April this year, Abang Johari said the Sarawak government was going to carry out an independent study to measure the state’s poverty rate.
 
 
With the survey expected to be completed within this year, he said the Sarawak EPU, consisting of economists and experts, would conduct the survey once the data was obtained to allow the formulation of poverty-eradication policies in the state.