KUALA LUMPUR – Sabah and Sarawak will be getting RM9.8 billion for development – including the construction and improvement of water and electricity supplies, roads, health and education facilities – in 2022.
In his speech tabling the budget today, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said Sabah will be getting RM5.2 billion and Sarawak RM4.6 billion.
The two states had received RM9.6 billion in the previous year’s budget, with Sabah then given RM5.1 billion and Sarawak RM4.5 billion, constituting an allocation lower by RM200 million.
Other perks for next year include another RM200 million to cover the cost of transporting essential goods in the rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak.
Another RM10 million is meant to help the people of Sabah and Sarawak gain knowledge about their culture and heritage, said Tengku Zafrul.
He said that the government will also subsidise air transport services in Sabah and Sarawak for folks living in far-flung places like Kudat and Long Pa Sia in Sabah, and the Bario-Ba’kelalan area in Sarawak. Putrajaya has set aside RM209 million for this purpose.
He said that folks in rural areas have had problems travelling out to access services in towns due to the conditions of the logging roads.
5G service, rural development, security
Tengku Zafrul also announced that the government plans to expand the 5G spectrum’s reach to cover 36% of highly populated areas in the main cities of Johor, Selangor, Penang, Sabah, and Sarawak in 2022.
Furthermore, some RM1.5 billion from the total national allocation of RM2.5 billion to narrow the developmental gap across the country will go to Sabah and Sarawak, he added.
Touching on border security, he said that eight more control posts will be built to maintain Malaysia’s sovereignty. They will be built in areas including Pegalungan in Sabah and Temung Mura in Sarawak, he said.
He added that four new immigration entry points would be built, including in Telok Melano and Baleh in Sarawak, due to the rise in foreigners entering from across the border there.
“The new entry points are established to cope with the growing number of entries due to the (planned) relocation of Indonesia's capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan, and also the opening of the Pan Borneo Highway in Telok Melano,” he explained.
Schools, palm oil levy, Earth Heir grant
Tengku Zafrul said allocation for school repairs will be increased to RM746 million next year, adding that most of the allocation would go towards 112 projects in Sabah and 165 projects in Sarawak.
Baby milk banks will be set up for premature infants in neonatal care units in both states.
The government has also agreed to heighten the profit ceiling on oil palm produce from the current RM3,000 for Sabah and Sarawak to RM3,500, while the oil palm levy will be streamlined to 3%, similar to what is observed for the products in Peninsular Malaysia.
Tengku Zafrul said that a special grant called Earth Heir would be established to promote environmentally friendly handicrafts by local communities.
“The founder of Earth Heir, Sasibal Kimis, has a major ambition to help handicraft makers expand their incomes.
In fact, he said, Earth Heir and the Dusun Minokok community in Sabah cooperated to produce the bag he used to bring over his Budget 2022 speech text in the Dewan Rakyat.
Tengku Zafrul said 20 more mobile bank services would begin operations, covering 250 areas and districts in the rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak. – The Vibes, October 29, 2021
