MIRI – The federal 2023 budget is set to become a hot issue with Sarawakians in the 15th general election (GE15), especially among the Dayak community, with some complaining that the state has been short-changed.
Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) secretary-general Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi today admitted that opposition parties are using the issue for their “political agenda” by pointing out that Sarawakians will get little from the national supply bill.
“They are saying the RM5.4 billion that the federal government announced for Sarawak is little in comparison to other states,” he said.
“As a Sarawakian I personally admit that we expected bigger allocations.
“In view of the big size of our state in comparison to the whole of Peninsular Malaysia, we should get more.”
Nanta however stressed that Putrajaya is facing financial constraints.
“We in Sarawak need to consider all these angles,” he told TVS while on his rounds in Kapit town in central Sarawak today.
Nanta is also secretary-general of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, which is the backbone of GPS.
The other components of the ruling coalition are the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party, Parti Rakyat Sarawak, and the Progressive Democratic Party.
He is also the incumbent MP for Kapit, one of the 31 parliamentary seats up for grabs in the election. He is expected to be renominated to defend the constituency for GPS in the coming national polls.
The state already held its state assembly polls in December last year.
Nanta said GPS leaders will explain the budget issue to the rakyat, adding that the ruling coalition is confident of winning big in GE15.
GPS controls 19 of the 31 parliamentary seats going into the polls.
‘Dayaks got nothing’
Sarawak’s Dayaks have vented their anger over the lack of special allocations for the community under Budget 2023 despite their votes being considered a “fixed deposit” for Barisan Nasional (BN), GPS’ federal-level ally that rules the country.
Tamin assemblyman Christopher Sambang of GPS asked why the Dayaks, who number about a million, did not get any specific funds, such as for business development.
“The RM5.4 billion given to Sarawak is about the amount that comes to Sarawak every year from the annual budget at the national level,” he said. “Those are usually for development expenditures that are general in nature.
“The budget had specific funds for the Orang Asli in the peninsula but nothing for the Dayaks in Sarawak,” he had said.
Opposition Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak also expressed similar frustrations.
Its president Bobby William said there was no allocation under the budget for the Dayak community to help them in specific areas.
“There was no mention at all of the Dayaks,” he said.
Datuk Peter Minos, who is Kota Samarahan municipal council chairman, also said the budget was nothing special for Sarawakians.
“Sabah got more with RM6.3 bil than Sarawak with RM5.4 bil,” he said. “Sarawak is much bigger in size and much more needs to be dealt with.”
Dayaks make up about 60% of Sarawak’s population of three million. – The Vibes, October 14, 2022
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