MUKAH: Sarawakians are anxiously waiting for this Friday, especially on how much Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin allocates for the biggest state in Malaysia.
This is when he tables the National Budget 2021at the Dewan Rakyat sitting in Parliament.
The budget will be the first for Muhyiddin since becoming the country’s eighth prime minister last February.
Undeniably, for him and also for all Malaysians, the process of preparing 2021 budget was a not a simple task amid Covid-19 pandemic and global economic slowdown.
Today, Bernama, quoting Minister in the Prime’s Minister Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, reported that various measures to accelerate the country’s economy recovery and maintain the well-being of the people would be introduced in Budget 2021.
Sarawak, like other states, also wants to be given a fair share of the national budget.
However, Sarawak is comparatively different from the rest of the Malaysian states in many ways.
The size and geography of Sarawak are two salient features requiring the state to be given extra attention, as far as 2021 budget is concerned.
So, how much will Muhyiddin and his Perikatan Nasional (PN)-led government give to Sarawak in the 2021 budget?
In the 2020 budget, Sarawak was not given enough by the then Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led government headed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The worst case scenario for Sarawak, during the 22-month-long PH rule was, many approved federal-funded projects in the state were cancelled, including major bridge projects.
The comparatively lack of development in Sarawak, especially in rural areas even 57 years after the formation of Malaysia, is mainly due to “unfair” allocation of the national budget to the state.
It is understood that Sarawak, bestowed with rich natural resources, has always contributed a reasonable amount of revenue to the national coffer, but sadly enough, ends up receiving less than what is reasonable or appropriate.
The glaring examples among others are the many dilapidated schools, lack of healthcare facilities, and poor Internet service in Sarawak – all these are due to “unfair” allocation of the national budget.
And why is it only about three years ago the Pan Borneo Highway project was implemented in Sarawak, even though certain quarters may say “it is better late than never”.
It is high time now that 2021budget should take into account Sarawak’s big contribution to the national coffer over the last many years. This certainly warrants the state to be accorded a reasonably fair share of the allocation.
Hopefully, Muhyiddin, the Pagoh MP, always remembers the state’s invaluable contribution, especially the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), playing role as the “kingmaker” leading him to be the number one man in Malaysian politics with the formation of PN-led government in February this year.
