Sabah, Sarawak, Penang biggest losers in Budget 2011

Malaysia Chronicle

Despite the slew of headline mega-projects worth billions and the thumbs-up from former premier Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister Najib Razak's Budget 2011 will marginalize the already-poor states of Sabah and Sarawak, while leaving opposition-run industrial hub Penang completely out of the loop.

According to Tony Pua, MP for Petaling Jaya Utara, the majority of projects announced were slated for West Malaysia. Najib had only allocated Sabah and Sarawak RM9.55 billion or a "meagre" 8 per cent of the total value of projects cited in the 2011 spending plan.

“The value of all the projects cited which are specifically located in West Malaysia amounted to a massive RM109.74 billion and this will include some of the headline projects such as the RM40 billion MRT system for the Klang Valley, the RM26 billion KL International Financial District, an estimated RM10 billion worth of new highways, a RM10 billion mixed property development in Sungai Buloh by EPF as well as the RM5 billion controversial 100-storey Warisan Merdeka,” Malaysian Insider reported Tony as saying.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has already slammed the Najib administration for sidelining his state, which has been asking for its own monorail and mass transit system to lighten traffic congestion on the island.

"What good will it do for the federal government to sideline Penang. There is no good news for Penangites in Budget 2011. We are disappointed that they seem to be taking it out on the Penang people," Guan Eng told reporters over the weekend.


Najib had unveiled an RM214 billion budget for 2011, the biggest ever in Malaysian history, split into RM162.8 billion for operating expenditure (up 7 percent over the previous year), RM49.2 billion for development (down 9 percent) and RM2 billion for contingencies.

Budget 2011 raised public concerns about his administration's push for a higher operating expenditure and also cast the spotlight on several mega-projects, namely a RM40 billion MRT network for Kuala Lumpur, another world's-tallest-type of building in the form of the 100-story Warisan Merdeka also in Kuala Lumpur, the 26 billion KL International financial district and a RM3billion eco-leisure project in Sabah that is speculated will include a casino.

"If we take out the eco-leisure project, it would only leave about RM6billion for both Sabah and Sarawak. These are the two hugest states in terms of land area, poverty levels and have greatest need for infrastrucre. Yet the allocation is just a bit more than the RM5billion 100-storey building in KL, which everyone says is all wrong especially in terms of timing the launch and will only create traffic havoc which will again require more money to be spent to correct," a research director at a large brokerage told Malaysia Chronicle.

Nonetheless, Najib's budget was lauded by Mahathir.

“What is interesting for me is that money is being spent to build this tower. When you spend money, then you create jobs, you create opportunities for doing business. I don’t know if it should be a 100-storey tower or not but spending money is good,” Mahathir told reporters on Monday.