Pairin not ‘fully satisfied’ with Budget 2016, but giving it benefit of doubt

KOTA KINABALU, Oct 26 — Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan admitted today he was not “fully satisfied” with the allocations set aside for Sabah under Budget 2016, saying there are matters that need more emphasis from Putrajaya.

Despite that, the senior leader said there will always be areas where state leaders want greater attention from their federal counterparts, and said he still needs to pore over the details of the RM29.2 billion in federal funds for the state next year.

“I cannot be fully satisfied with the budget. There are areas which we would like the [federal] government not to forget, and put emphasis on,” he said, citing several issues under his ministry such as the development of the Sepanggar Bay container port and the long-standing cabotage policy.

The Sabah infrastructure development minister acknowledged that it would have been impossible for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to have covered every single detail when tabling Budget 2016 last Friday.

“Any budget unfortunately cannot satisfy everybody. It depends on priorities emphasised by the government. We are still thankful that it is inclusive of the people — addressing the burden of the cost of living,” he said.

In previous reports, Pairin had proposed a RM1.5 billion project in the 11^th Malaysia Plan for the Sepanggar Bay Container Port to be upgraded into a Transhipment Hub of the East by 2030.

The aim was to balance export and import activities at the port which currently has a high percentage of import activities at 80 per cent compared with export at 20 per cent.

The imbalance is the main reason for high shipping costs to send cargo or container to Sabah where shipowners have to incur a high return trip cost, which translates to higher operation costs for the businesses and consumers.

Last Friday Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that Budget 2016 proposes to allocate a total of RM29.2 billion for development in Sabah and Sarawak including RM260 million allocation to ensure price uniformity of selected items nationwide, RM523 million for the Eastern Sabah Security Command development, RM115 million to upgrade native customary rights and native court services, and RM70 million for interest-free loans for the purpose of building longhouses among other allocations.

He also proposed exemption of the Goods and Services Tax for rural domestic flights in Sabah and Sarawak, RM30 million for Sarawak and RM20 million for Sabah for native customary reserve land mapping surveys and construction of a toll-free Pan Borneo Highway in East Malaysia.