‘Get your facts right, Rahman’

The federal government collects some RM15 to RM20 billion a year in taxes from Sabah and this together with a higher oil royalty will be enough for Sabah to look after itself.

KOTA KINABLU: State Reform Party (STAR) has rubbished Sabah Barisan Nasional’s claim that the state will flounder if federal allocations under the Malaysia Plan is reduced.

Laying out the facts for state BN secretary Abdul Rahman Dahlan who expressed this concern, STAR deputy chairman Daniel Jambun said with the currently collected billions in taxes and a higher oil royalty of 50%, Sabah wouldn’t need anymore federal allocations.

“Abdul Rahman is forgetting that under the 10th Malaysia plan, Sabah and Sarawak combined are getting only about RM9 billion as compared to about RM100 billion for the Peninsular.

“At this rate of allocation, Sabah is actually getting less than RM1 billion per year throughout the five-year Malaysia Plan. As such, the federal allocations are not much and hardly fulfil all the development needs of Sabah,” Jambun said

Jambun also said that if the BN government is replaced by the opposition in Sabah, the state will also be asking for the original promises to allow it to collect and manage its own revenues, including taxes.

“Taxes collected from Sabah alone amounts from RM15 to RM20 billion per year so just imagine how much we are losing at the moment.

“So combined that with the retention of income from oil by way of royalty, the income for Sabah per year would be in the tens of billions per year.

“So why would we need anymore allocation from Sabah?”

Sabah will be self-sufficient

He said with such a huge revenue base, Sabah would be able to take care of its own education, health and even security costs.

“In fact Sabah would be a very rich state and would reach a developed status within a decade or two.

“So it is a pity that the BN leaders still have this outdated thinking that we must depend on the federal government forever to develop, whereas the real solution is right in our own backyard.”