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Stampin MP questions unfair devt expenditure allocation for Sabah, Sarawak in 2021 Budget - Borneo Post Online

KUCHING (Nov 30): Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen has questioned the unfair allocation of specific development expenditure for Sabah and Sarawak in the 2021 Budget.

He said the specific development expenditure for the two Bornean states was about 13 per cent of the total RM69 billion development expenditure in the 2021 National Budget, compared to 17 per cent when the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government approved the 2020 Budget.

“Even though the development expenditure has increased from RM56 billion in 2020 to RM69 billion for 2021, specific development expenditure for Sarawak and Sabah still remains at around RM9.6 billion.

“Therefore this is an injustice to Sabah and Sarawak,” the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman said in his 2021 Budget debate speech in parliament today.

Chong also said despite the increase in the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD) development expenditure from RM2.93 billion in 2020 to RM7.22 billion for 2021, the allocation for the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Division under the PMD was only at RM22 million compared to the PMD management expenditure of about RM4.47 billion.

“That is not even 0.5 per cent (of the management expenditure). And the number of posts in the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Division is only 106 compared to the PMD with 24,000 officers.

“This shows that the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Minister (Datuk Seri Maximus Johnity Ongkili) is the only minister who has no development expenditure under his own jurisdiction.

“This means that Sabah and Sarawak continue to be sidelined under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government just like back during the Barisan Nasional (BN) days,” he said.

Chong also highlighted another unfairness in the 2021 Budget allocation for the development corporations (PKN) of Sarawak compared to other states.

He said Sarawak PKN was only allocated RM665,000, compared to Johor PKN which was allocated RM14 million, Kedah RM16 million, Kelantan RM7 million, Terengganu RM1 million and Sabah RM9 million.

“Even though the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) has been the kingmaker during the ‘Sheraton Move’, the PN government only appointed several GPS leaders as cabinet ministers, and showed no appreciation to Sarawak in the 2021 National Budget,” said Chong.

Mycomments:

How can Malaya Agong endorse the Budget 2021 showing unfairness and injustice to pass?  How can Sarawak BN-GPS so-called national representatives allow the Budget 2021 to pass without any protest?  How can the BN-GPS Sarawak government and the Sabah government accept this unfair and unjust federal Budget 2021?  

Who cares about the feelings and thoughts of Sabahans and Sarawakians?  Well, I pray and hope that Sabahans and Sarawakians will wake up and exercise people’s power to flush out for a change.  Only through competition, we people can expect improvement.  Otherwise, we have to face the same pattern, the same practice of corruption and collusion of these political scoundrels and thugs.  We face the same problems of being plundered, exploited, oppressed, suppressed, robbed and bullied.

The poverty and the extremes we face today are the making of these political scoundrels and thugs.  Dear friends, are you prepared for the flush out of these political thugs?

Water, water everywhere in Bintulu 30/11/2020 Monday

 

Water, water everywhere in Bintulu   30/11/2020  Monday

        On 27^th November, 2020, Bintulu was heavily flooded in many areas.  Why?  You all must ask yourselves and others, YB Tion King Sing especially, for the reasons for the plights.  Bintulu being a coastal town is not supposed to face floods in any degree.  What has really gone wrong in Bintulu, I wonder?   I went to Bintulu once only to visit my third younger sister and her family in 199-.   Only, Bintuluans know best what has gone wrong.

        In early years, floods were common in Sibu, but not in Bintulu and Miri, not to say Lawas or Limbang in my impression.  Sibu is not spare of floods  now.   Nowadays, Floods have become common and rampant in Bintulu and Miri, especially, why?

        Who should be accountable for the frequent floods in Bintulu and Miri?  If not YBs and the ruling party, who?  YB Tiong King Sing seems to know a lot about flood woes in Sibu and for sure as he locked horns with YB Soon Koh Wong over the issues of floods in Sibu months ago,  he owes Bintuluan an explanation for the flood woes on November 27^th, 2020 in Bintulu.   Why not? 

        Though I am not an expert and may not be so accurate specifically to talk about the flood woes in Bintulu, I dare to make some guesses based on my knowledge of flood woes in Sibu over years of observation and study.  By general law of nature, water always flows downwards and the drainage system must be in capacity to discharge.  However, the deluge from the two dams plus the torrential rain plus the king tides, heavy floods occurs just naturally.  It is common sense.  What were the immediate causes of floods on November 27^th, 2020, I wonder? 

         The water was Teh-tarik in colour.  In Sibu, if the water is Teh-tarik in colour, it is the water overflowing from the Rejang River.  On the other hand, if it is Kopi-O in colour, it is the local stagnant rain water.  What about it in Bintulu, I wonder?

         The main causes of flood have been discussed and forumed many, many and many times already to be:

1.    Indiscriminate logging for different economic activities-- plundering    way of development

2.   Two big dams upstream – the large volume of discharge -- deluge

3.    A large tract of land has been cleared for the Baleh dam which is almost ready for operation next year, 2021

4.    Shallowing of river system as a result of soil erosion and so siltation

5.    Lack of water catchment areas

6.    Not building enough reservoirs in the forms of tube wells and tunnels to deal with excess water

7.    Poor local drainage system in the flood areas

8.    Lack of the whole network of drainage system

       

        Don’t blame the inclement weather for floods as the good government is well-prepared for abnormal weather conditions when it has become normal phenomena.

The YBs and BN-GPS government are as helpless as babies as far as flood problems are concerned.   So far, what they do is having installed flood alarm system and set up the rescue team to help the rakyat.  See that they can not do more than these since time immemorial.  Do you still have Hope in them to improve you lots? 

Wake up, friends, reject the BN-GPS government for your own and future generations good and well-being to opt for a better and more dynamic one – the one who dares to declare Sarawak Independence and Freedom.

        The BN-GPS government who has been in power for far too long is rotten and corrupt.  Flush them out like flushing the toilet.  Are you ready, friends?

                                                        Belinda Ling Moi Hung.

Whose rights are they protecting, Sarawakians’ or theirs?

 

Whose rights are they protecting, Sarawakians’ or theirs?  29/11/20

The representatives of DAP, PKR or PH Sarawak are the agents of the Malayan parties.  Hence, no doubt, they are protecting their respective parties to protect their official positions and so their interests.  We have had enough glimpses of their acts, behaviours and expressions since 509.  In so-called federal Budget 2021, we have had the full glare and view of their acts, behaviours and expressions to deny the facts and truth.  Do you still support them?  Stop being fools to save Sarawak.

        Worst of all  is the BN-GPS political thugs who have all proclaimed to protect Sarawak rights and interests instead they have been selling out the rights and interests of Sarawak for their official positions and interests in the guise of the local party which many fools and ignorants take for granted.  They are actually the culprits for the selling of the rights and interests of Sarawak to the Malaya colonial and foreign power.   They create a lot of make-believes and dreams to fool and intoxicate Sarawakians.

        The BN-GPS political thugs have been colluding with the Malayan colonial masters to plunder, exploit, oppress, suppress, rob and bully Sarawakians.  When have they stood up to protect the rights and interests of Sarawakians?  Instead, I have seen them threaten Sarawakians to submission to the authoritative power of Malayan colonial masters

        First, they have allowed the ‘fakederation’ of Malaysia to continue and hence they have accepted the nation of Sarawak to be degraded to be a vassal state of Malaya since 1976.  The Chief Minister, Abang Johari has many times expressed himself of his decision to forever stay in the ‘fakederation’ of Malaysia despite the fact that MA63 is void and null as Sarawak did not have the legal capacity to sign the International Treaty like the Chagos Island. 

        It is understood why they want to keep the final report of MA63 secret under the Official Secrets Act.  They had been negotiations between these high ranking officials for their self-interests at the expense of Sarawakians and Sabahans in general.

        For special grant, TaibMahmud had never cared to reveal Special Grant at all since 1969 during his tenure as  Chief Minister of Sarawak for 33 years.

This devil was too self-interested and selfish to care for his fellow Sarawakians being ignorant, who had been fooled and intoxicated by his promises and make-believes.

        The change of so called ‘Federal government’ to PH, the Special Grant was said to increase to RM32 million from RM16 million in 2020 Federal Budget dropped to RM16 million again but the BN-GPS government just kept quiet for nothing but a lot of negotiations of interests sharing among themselves. I believe so.

        Wake up, my Sarawakians friends for a change for our whole good.   Discard the 57 years old corrupt the BN-GPS government for a better one.

The one who dares to declare Sarawak Independence and Freedom.  This is the time and the place to opt for the party who dares to UDI/ Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Sarawak.  It is the united Sarawakians to bring a better and brighter future for Sarawak.  Are you ready?

                                                                                                                                                                        Belinda Ling Moi Hung

Chang asks why state government allowed S’wak’s special grant reduction in Budget 2021

SIBU: Bukit Assek assem­bly­woman Irene Chang said the Gabun­gan Parti Sarawak (GPS) govern­ment should clar­ify to the Sarawakians if they had known of the re­duc­tion of the spe­cial grant to RM16 mil­lion from the al­lo­cated sum of RM32 mil­lion in Bud­get 2020 be­fore the tabling of Bud­get 2021.

She asked why the GPS govern­ment had al­lowed the re­duc­tion of the spe­cial grant made un­der Ar­ti­cle 112D of the Fed­eral Con­sti­tu­tion it had known about the drop in the grant.

“The GPS govern­ment should there­fore come clean to ex­plain the short­fall of the spe­cial grant to Sarawak to as­sure the peo­ple that their rights and in­ter­est have not been short changed in any way.

All per­ti­nent de­tails of ne­go­ti­a­tion and agreed terms should be re­vealed in­clud­ing the agree­ment ar­rived at for the agreed re­duc­tion of the spe­cial grant from RM32mil­lion to RM16 mil­lion in Bud­get 2021,” she said in a me­dia state­ment.

Ban­dar Kuch­ing MP Dr Kelvin Yii re­cently re­vealed the re­duc­tion of the spe­cial grant to RM16 mil­lion from the al­lo­cated sum of RM32 mil­lion in Bud­get 2020.

Given the in­her­i­tance of huge debts from the pre­vi­ous BN govern­ment and which had then left the coun­try on the brink of bank­ruptcy, Chang said the in­cre­ment of the spe­cial grant from RM16 mil­lion to RM32 mil­lion in 2020 was one of the most her­culean ef­forts made by the Pakatan Ha­paran (PH) fed­eral govern­ment for the ben­e­fit of the peo­ple of Sarawak.

She said the PH govern­ment had re­mem­bered its pledge to help Sabah and Sarawak and dou­bled the spe­cial grants to the two states.

She said this spe­cial grant had never been re­viewed since 1969 and yet the PH Govern­ment had on its own ac­cord, in­creased the grant to RM32 mil­lion from 2020 un­til 2023 and was to be dou­bled again to RM64 mil­lion in 2024.

 “It is now there­fore cru­cial for GPS to ex­plain to the Sarawakians this re­duc­tion of RM16 mil­lion.

They have to clar­ify if this re­duc­tion was part of the ne­go­ti­a­tion on the com­mer­cial ar­range­ment be­tween Petronas, Fed­eral Govern­ment and the GPS Govern­ment.

“Was it also a part of the terms of ne­go­ti­a­tion for Petronas to agree to pay the RM2.95 bil­lion in the state sales tax? (RM2 billion 950 million)

The peo­ple of Sarawak have the right to know as this con­cerns their in­ter­est and wel­fare. They are the ones who stand to ben­e­fit or to suf­fer from any deal which the State govern­ment has made with the Fed­eral Govern­ment and Petronas.”

So far since the takeover of the fed­eral govern­ment by the Perikatan Na­sional(PN) govern­ment, Chang said both the GPS and the PN gov­ern­ments have re­fused to re­veal any re­port on the de­tails of ne­go­ti­a­tions or agreed terms held be­tween them. 

“Even the Sarawak Leg­isla­tive Assem­bly Con­sul­ta­tive Com­mit­tee, which was formed to ad­vance and safe­guard the spe­cial in­ter­ests, rights and po­si­tion of Sarawak as en­shrined in MA63 and the Fed­eral Con­sti­tu­tion, have not been up­dated since June 2020,’ she said.

Adding on, she said in the just con­cluded Sarawak DUN sit­ting, her mo­tion to move for the terms of set­tle­ment of the cases be­tween Petronas and State Govern­ment to be re­vealed to De­wan was also dis­al­lowed on the ground that the Con­sul­ta­tive Com­mit­tee had not at the ma­te­rial time of DUN sit­ting, re­ceived any re­port from the State Govern­ment for the mem­bers of the com­mit­tee to dis­cuss among them first.

“All th­ese re­ports on the de­tails of ne­go­ti­a­tions and terms of set­tle­ment are shrouded in se­crecy plus the fact that PN Fed­eral govern­ment has not al­lowed the fi­nal re­port from the Cabi­net spe­cial com­mit­tee which was tasked with re­view­ing the im­ple­men­ta­tion of MA63, to be made pub­lic should raise the Sarawakians’ guard on whether mis­takes of the past would be re­peated which would cause our rights to be fur­ther eroded.”