KUCHING, Nov 14 — Insufficient federal allocations for Sarawak is starting to be chronic, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas today.
Denying that this was due to lack of trying by the state government, he insisted that they want equal funding for Sarawak under the federal government’s Budget 2019.
“Despite the huge contribution to national coffers from our oil and gas resources over many decades, we have been unable to secure sufficient federal funding for the development of our physical and socio-cultural infrastructure, which still lags very far behind those which our compatriots in Peninsular Malaysia are able to enjoy,” he said.
In his winding-up speech in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, he said even with strong representation in Parliament, the now-defunct Sarawak Barisan Nasional did not always obtain the funding it sought.
He explained that this was a function of parliamentary democracy where the majority — the peninsula in Malaysia’s case — dictated to the rest of the country.
With the recent change in Putrajaya, he said Sarawak is now entering uncharted waters since it has never been in a position where it is not part of the federal administration.
However, he noted that the coalition government under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is at least still in full control of the state, with its more than two-thirds majority in the assembly.
“Lest there are still those who are unsure, in Sarawak the GPS is the Government and Pakatan Harapan (PH) is the Opposition,” he said.
Uggah said after 55 years of being behind the peninsula in terms of development, Sarawak must take full control over its destiny.
“We have our own aspirations, hopes and dreams of a better future for ourselves, children, grand-children and generations to come. We must move and develop at a pace that we Sarawakians decide.
“We must have the freedom to chart our future direction in accordance with our own aspirations and within the spirit and intent of the original Malaysia Agreement 1963.
“There is so much at stake for us, whether we are talking about control over natural resources, immigration, land matters, our tradition, our culture and our unity,” he said, adding that these are unique to Sarawak and only Sarawakians are in a position to fully comprehend the complexities, sensitivities and socio-political currents within the state’s society.
He said Sarawak should never be put in a situation where important decisions affecting their future are placed in the hands of those who barely know Sarawak and its people, or those who may have their own separate agenda.
“Sarawak must not be ruled by a party who takes instruction from Kuala Lumpur. Sarawak must be governed by the best and most experienced party born of Sarawak,” he asserted.
