This is the question that should be asked of Sarawakians and by extension, Sabahans who thought they would be getting a windfall of development allocation from the federal government.
Their hopes were dashed when the 2025 Budget, which was tabled yesterday by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim revealed that the Borneo states would only get an increase of RM100 million over the previous budget.
The tabling of the Budget was eagerly anticipated by many for a multitude of reasons. Government employees, in particular, awaited news on potential year-end bonuses or incentives.
Social media users would play a guessing game over the colour of the baju melayu worn by the finance minister — or in this case, the prime minister himself.
Yesterday, he donned a cream-coloured baju melayu – I leave the analysis and interpretation of his choice of attire to the experts.
But for Sarawakians and Sabahans, the only thing that matters is the allocation they get for development.
Last year, for the 2024 Budget, Sarawak was allocated a sum of RM5.8 billion for development, while neighbour Sabah was given RM6.6 billion. For the 2025 Budget, they received RM5.9 billion and RM6.7 billion respectively.
From the viewpoint of the people in Borneo, they are looking for more than just a fair share —they want what was promised.
I am not sure that an RM100 million increase – mind you, still a huge amount of money, more than any of the ordinary rakyat can fathom – could be accepted in good faith as a fair share.
Malaysia’s federal budgets have often followed a simple formula: allocate funds based on population size. On the surface, this seems logical. More people, more needs, right?
But for Sarawak and Sabah, this formula has never worked in their favour. With smaller populations but much larger land areas, these states face unique challenges that demand more than just a population-based approach.
The vast landscapes of Sarawak and Sabah mean infrastructure projects — like roads, bridges, and utilities — are far more expensive to build and maintain than those in Peninsular Malaysia.
A budget that ignores these geographical realities essentially handicaps these states, forcing them to struggle with outdated infrastructure while the West races ahead. For many years, the specific needs of East Malaysia have been a matter that was slept on by Putrajaya, leaving critical sectors like healthcare, education, and infrastructure severely underfunded.
Meanwhile, Peninsular Malaysia enjoys modern highways, state-of-the-art hospitals, and advanced educational institutions. The population-based funding model has failed Sarawak and Sabah.
Why should two of Malaysia’s richest regions remain some of its most underdeveloped?
What they want is simple: an allocation system that considers not just population size but the unique challenges they face.
This has been a problem — a problem that is long enough to notice its pattern repeating itself.
Being a journalist, it is almost like a yearly tradition for us to ask state leaders and the ordinary man on the ground about their hopes and aspirations for the budget. Their request, while many, boils down to one point: More allocation for Sarawak and Sabah.
Time after time, and year after year, they would be left underwhelmed by the figures received by Sarawak and Sabah.
Yes, there are increases, but it is very minuscule and shouldn’t be anything to be proud of or shout about.
This is to the point that Sarawak politicians would not bother with the federal budget and in doing so, it would help them to save face because they know they would always get disappointed in the end.
But then again there is such phrase as “perhaps next year is our year”. It provides some sense of optimism and belief. It is a phrase commonly associated with football.
You would say next year is your year for your football team only for them to fall short and bottle the entire thing at the last stretch like every other time.
Did they deliver this time? That is the question that must be asked — and to answer that question, we have to consider things other than development allocation alone — let’s also talk about the special grant payment that was doubled from RM300 to RM600 million.
Let’s also talk about the specific projects implemented by the federal government in Sarawak. While they are commendable, they do not make up for the inadequacies that must be addressed.
Is this year our year? You be the judge.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the New Sarawak Tribune.
