Sabah worse off under PN budget, says Guan Eng

 

Lim Guan Eng has questioned how much of the RM11.4 billion allocated for bumiputera development would be channelled to Sabah.

PETALING JAYA: Sabah is being treated worse under Perikatan Nasional and Barisan Nasional, claims DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

He said the state received only 6.9% of the development expenditure in the 2022 Budget, compared to 9.3% under Pakatan Harapan.

In his speech at the Sabah DAP convention in Sandakan, Lim questioned how much the poor Sabah bumiputeras would stand to benefit from the money allocated for bumiputera development in the federal budget, compared to bumiputeras in the peninsula.

“Budget 2022 will allocate RM11.4 billion especially for bumiputera development, but how much of that sum will be channelled to Sabah?

“To date, the federal government has refused to disclose these figures, particularly the income disparity between the bumis in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.”

He added that despite PN and BN winning the state elections, Sabah was treated worse under the annual budget, arguing that even though development expenditure had increased to RM75.6 billion, Sabah was still allocated the same RM5.2 billion.

He also said that “racist or extremist sentiments” used as the backdrop in the budget allocations had not helped Sabah, which remained one of the poorest states in Malaysia.

Lim maintained that even though DAP did not object to the RM11.4 billion allocated to bumiputeras in the budget, non-bumiputera communities should be given more, commensurate with their 30% population size in the country, and hence the present allocation was unfair.

“For this reason, Sabah must protect and preserve its unique harmony and heritage.

“DAP will stand together with all parties in opposing any attempt to interfere with the basic constitutional right of freedom of religion in the country,” he also said. - FMT