KUCHING, Feb 24: The newly-announced revised Budget 2023 today proves the Federal government’s commitment to continuing negotiations and implementing the demands of Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), says Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof.
Among them was the finalising of special annual grants for Sabah and Sarawak under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution with Sarawak to receive an agreed allocation of RM300 million for this year.
“Since 1973, the special grant rates for Sabah and Sarawak have remained at RM26.7 million and RM16 million respectively. The Federal government is also committed to expediting negotiations for a new formula,” he said in a statement today.
He added that the Federal government has handed over the authority to approve the procurement of federal projects to the technical department in Sabah and Sarawak for projects up to RM50 million.
In terms of health facilities, the government has allocated a total of RM1.2 billion for the maintenance of 400 dilapidated clinics and 380 dilapidated schools in the two states.
Fadillah who is also Minister of Plantation and Commodities further said the national Budget 2023 which has the theme of ‘Developing Malaysia Madani’, clearly proves the Federal government’s continued commitment and dedication in empowering infrastructure development in Sabah and Sarawak.
Under the budget, Sabah and Sarawak received an allocation of RM6.5 billion and RM5.6 billion respectively, compared to RM5.16 billion and RM4.67 billion in 2022.
He mentioned that a total of RM20 billion has been allocated to continue and speed up the implementation of the Sabah Pan Borneo highway as well as the Sabah-Sarawak Link Road with a length of over 1,000 kilometers.
He also said Budget 2023 focuses on Sabah and Sarawak main road projects, border roads and upgrading the Immigration, Customs and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex on the border of Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan, following the ongoing development of Indonesia’s new capital ‘Nusantara’ in Kalimantan.
“This effort is to improve relations that open up various opportunities in this country and Kalimantan. Human-to-human, business-to-business and Government-to-Government (G2G) relations will be strengthened if logistics are improved,” he emphasised. — DayakDaily
