Wong to ask Abang Jo if Sarawak will get special grant like Sabah

 

PSB president Wong Soon Koh asks if Putrajaya will give Sarawak a similar increase in special grant as Sabah.  (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak opposition leader Wong Soon Koh wants premier Abang Johari Openg to reveal whether the state will receive a similar increase in its special grant as Sabah got from Putrajaya.

This was among the questions the Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) president submitted for the Sarawak state assembly, which starts sitting today.

“On Feb 16, Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Maximus Ongkili announced that Sabah would receive a five-time increase in federal annual grants, ending a five-decade fight on claims by the Sabah government.

“When is Sarawak going to receive the same, if not better, financial treatment from the federal government?” he asked, according to Borneo Post.

In April, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Putrajaya’s annual payment to Sabah will more than quadruple – from RM26.7 million previously to RM125.6 million this year.

He said this amount will increase every year for the 2023 to 2026 period, according to a rate jointly agreed by Putrajaya and the Sabah government.

At the same time, the federal and Sabah governments will continue negotiating the state’s demand for 40% of revenue from Sabah and reviewing the special grant under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution.

Wong, the Bawang Assan assemblyman, also asked Abang Johari to explain how his administration hoped to achieve an annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 8% when its GDP growth rate had constantly remained under 5% over the years.

“Has the premier taken into consideration the possible regional and worldwide economic turbulence and financial instabilities when computing our growth rates in the years leading up to 2030?” he asked. -FMT