Recycle projects and sweet nothings for Sabah

Sabahans have watched their local Barisan Nasional-supporting politicians rushing to praise each budget for its forethought even before grasping what it means.

Melvin Augustine

KOTA KINABALU: Move along now, move along. Nothing to see here. It’s the fiscal cop directing traffic at the site of the collision between the 2014 Budget and Sabahans’ expectations as they gawked at their television screens on Friday.

It’s the day after the Budget2014 announcement by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

The show is over. As far as Sabah is concerned, its’ a car wreck. There was nothing new.

Sabahans and east Malaysians have seen it all before – 49 times before since 1963.

They’ve also watched their local Barisan Nasional-supporting politicians rushing to praise each budget for its forethought even before grasping what it means. They’ve done it 49 times before.

The truth is that there’s nothing much to shout about for both Sabah and Sarawak. And this despite its lawmakers having helped Barisan Nasional coalition leaders retain their jobs in Putrajaya.

There were expectations of some extra funds for basic infrastructure development if not a bigger slice of the pie.

But no. The status quo remains.

Sabah’s treatment in the budget shines a light on how Malayan bureaucracy thinks as Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud pointed out last week in the presence of Najib when he talked about the different approaches in policies compared with some peninsular states.

The budget has thrown a harsh light on the state of a nation teetering on the edge of economic collapse and struggling to cope with a bloated bureaucracy and dysfunctional public administration system.

Legal loopholes

While widespread use of legal loopholes by corrupt state workers continues as pointed out in the Auditor-General’s report just over a week ago, citizens are being asked to discipline themselves and tighten their belts.

Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman said hours after the 2014 Budget had been tabled in parliament that the state government and the people of Sabah were grateful to Prime Minister Najib for the “concern and continuing commitment to state development and prosperity” of Sabahans.

Among the projects Musa mentioned as economy-boosting are the Sabah Ammonia Urea project, major agricultural projects, the upgrading of Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan airports and defense. All are “recycled” projects.

“The budget tabled by Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Najib Tun Razak gives the assurance that the government will ensure the rakyat will not be burdened by the impact of the sluggish global economy,” the mainstream media quoted him as saying at a press conference at his official residence in Sri Gaya after the live telecast of the budget speech.

“The budget outlined the government’s measures in facing global economic challenges to ensure that the country continues to be sustainable and resilient.

“It also considers the interest and well-being of all levels of society especially the needy,” said Musa who is also the state Finance Minister.

He believes the 2014 Budget will drive the country’s economy and improve the socio-economic status of the people.

The public must first understand the Goods and Services Tax (GST) before judging the government of taking the bold move to implement it which will be enforced on Apr 1, 2015.

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun found the budget and the announcement of the Goods and Service Tax in 2015 “a bold move … because sooner or later, the government must decide on the matter”.

He added that since it was new, many would not know what the GST was all about and would critisise it.

‘Six better than 16%’

The government, he said, would abolish the sales and service taxes which together add up to 16%, while GST is rated at 6%.

“I may not be a good mathematician, but I know that six is better. So I hope the people will have an open mind to look and evaluate GST before criticising and punishing the government.

“Read and get a better understanding of GST before judging the government. We have until April 2015 to study about the GST and I believe by then, we will be able to accept and make early preparation on what needs to be done on the matter,” he said.

But what Sabahans complain about is that conveniently ignored in all this is that Sabah continues to contribute heftily to the national coffers through its oil and gas resources for which it in return gets 5% of the take.

A quick look at the 2014 Budget shows how much has been specially earmarked for Sabah and Sarawak. Together they will share RM2.049 billion.

-RM130 mil – Rural air transport

-RM850 mil – New underwater high speed telecommunication cables for Internet access

-RM500 mil – Pan-Borneo highway

-RM75 mil  - East Coast special security

-RM50 mil  - Land survey and customary land ownership verification

-RM265 mil – Electricity supply

-RM179 mil – Housing in rural areas

By and large Sabahans have scoffed at Najib as ungenerous especially as east Malaysians have given unselfishly both in terms of political control as well as natural resources.

Former state secretary Simon Sipaun in a swift reply on his take of the budget said it was “nothing to shout about”.

‘No sweetener’

Sabah assembly representative Junz Wong, an outspoken critic of the government, echoed his criticism saying there was “nothing in it for the Sabah BN to boast about”.

Former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee calls the budget “bad news” and the price Sabahans have to pay for for voting for a Barisan Nasional government.

Sabah’s allocation, Sipaun said, was not even the equivalent of peanuts when compared to the RM16.5 bil allocated to the Prime Minister’s Department.

“It is really insulting to Sabah and Sarawak,” he pointed out, stunned that the much-criticised cabotage policy remained untouched.

One of the ironies of budget is that the so-called saviours of the BN had received advice that the past is an indication of the future.

This is especially galling as Sabah helped return the BN coalition to power in the May general election.

But Sabahans, their leaders included, as it turned out are not ones to heed sensible warnings, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.

“This is what they get,” said Sipaun.

And there’s no sweetener. The joke, it seems, is on the east Malaysians.