Half of Jasa's RM85.5m allocation should be given to Sabah - Upko

 

United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) president Wilfred Madius Tangau has urged for half of the RM85.5 million allocated to the Special Affairs Department (Jasa) in Budget 2021 to be transferred for the development of Sabah.

"Half of that, RM42.25 million, should be earmarked for Sabah while the other half can go to other states and sectors.

"Upko cannot support a budget that keeps RM85.5 million – roughly RM3 per Malaysian – for cybertroopers and cronies when patients, frontliners, families, and businesses are denied more support," he said.

The Tuaran MP said Sabah deserves the RM42.25 million because it is the state hardest-hit by Covid-19 and was in danger of becoming the "Wuhan or Milan of Malaysia" due to an uncontrolled influx of undocumented migrants.

He also said the state's plight today is caused by Sabah's "marginalisation" within Malaysia.

Wilfred (above) added that no party or parliamentarian with a conscience can support the RM85.5 million allocation to Jasa instead of to Malaysians who were fighting the pandemic and struggling to make an honest living.

As such, the Upko president said they would vote against the budget or table motions to amend it in the committee stage if Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is adamant about bulldozing the “flawed” budget without any amendments.

He also said they will organise a meeting on Budget 2021, which will be broadcast live on Upko's Facebook page at 1pm on Nov 15.

As Sabahans are their “boss”, he said his party will seek the input from Sabahans on what programmes and purposes the RM42.25 million should be earmarked for.

Jasa was abolished during the Pakatan Harapan administration. During the BN era, the department received annual allocations of between RM21 million and RM22 million from 2011 to 2018.

The RM85.5 million allocation to revive Jasa in Budget 2021 sparked an outcry both in the Dewan Rakyat and among ordinary Malaysians with the department's reputation as a government tool used to strengthen BN’s political control when it was in power.

Among the critics include former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak who said the four-fold increase in allocation to Jasa was “unacceptable” and would court public anger. - Mkini