KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has lauded Budget 2023, saying that it shows that the federal government is committed to emphasising development in Sabah.
In welcoming the RM6.3 billion allocation for Sabah next year, marking a 20.45% increase from the RM5.2 billion granted in Budget 2022, Hajiji thanked the federal government for assuring continued allocations for the Pan Borneo Highway project in Sabah, which is expected to be completed in 2024.
“Budget 2023 is consistent with the federal government’s commitment to ensure no one is left out of mainstream development.
“It is a continuation of the momentum of the nation’s recovery from the pandemic, which is now in the endemic phase, and the Sabah government welcomes such an inclusive budget,” he said in a statement today.
Hajiji said the Sabah government also welcomed the federal government’s commitment to ensuring the state’s security with upgrades at Lahad Datu Eastern Sabah Security Command as well as providing additional security assets and construction of a field hospital next year.
Budget 2023 – tabled by Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz today – also allocated RM1.2 billion to repair dilapidated schools. This includes 123 projects in Sabah as well as another RM430 million to build five new schools nationwide – including SMK Nabalu in Kiulu, Sabah next year.
Also mentioned was the development of border towns, including the construction of a road connecting Kalabakan to Simanggaris in Indonesia.
Tengku Zafrul also stated that RM250 million would be allocated for developing the Sepanggar Bay Container Port next year.
“Sabah also welcomes the federal government’s commitment to helping ease the hardship of the people that can be seen through the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia involving more than RM10 billion next year,” said Hajiji.
The chief minister added that he welcomed the “electricity subsidy of up to RM40 to households in the eKasih list,” he said.
Sabah also welcomed the various initiatives in the tourism sector, which would hopefully help increase the sector’s revenue in the state next year, he said.
Meanwhile, Sabah DAP secretary Phoong Jin Zhe claimed that the 2023 budget showed that Sabah is getting a lower allocation from the entire national development budget each year.
Phoong said Sabah received only 6.9% in 2022 compared to 6.6% next year under the present federal government.
Under Budget 2022, the federal government allocated RM75.6 billion for development expenditure with Sabah supposed to receive RM5.2 billion, or 6.9%.
The state will receive RM6.3 billion or 6.6% from a development expenditure of RM94.3 billion in 2023.
Phoong contrasted the figures with the allocation given by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, which gave Sabah 9.3% or RM5.2 billion from a RM56 billion development expenditure in 2020.
“It shows PH is the only federal government that, despite a short period of time, gave Sabah the largest portion of the development budget, under the then-finance minister Lim Guan Eng.
“From 2022 to 2023 under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Sabah in actuality gets less in terms of percentage,” he told The Vibes, today. – The Vibes, October 7, 2022
Additional reporting by Jason Santos
