KUCHING, Nov 8: Michael Kong, the special assistant to Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen urges SUPP and PRS Members of Parliament (MPs) to vote against Budget 2021 which is due to be debated in Parliament this week.
He said if both the parties are truly for the people of Sarawak, they would be against this budget which has dealt a poor allocation to the state.
“With one MP from SUPP (Sarawak United Peoples’ Party) and two from PRS (Parti Rakyat Sarawak), the budget can be defeated by taking a collective strong stance against the current PN (Perikatan Nasional) government for taking us for a ride.
“Any inaction towards this regard will show how all they say is just political theatrical,” he asserted in a statement today.
The Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) leader addressing these remarks to SUPP president Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian and PRS president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing as he urged the two leaders to state their own individual party’s stances on the federal budget.
The reason being he viewed that Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) is the only party within the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition to agree with Budget 2021 which was announced on Nov 6.
“Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg and Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi have applauded the budget as if it is a blessing for Sarawak.
“On the contrary, there is a deafening silence by the other component parties in GPS on the budget,” he opined in his statement.
Kong asserted it was unacceptable that the allocation for development has increased by RM13 billion when it is ‘high season’ for Covid-19 now.
“It is disappointing that as the Chief Minister of Sarawak, Abang Johari says that the allocation is understandable in light of the current Covid-19 climate.
“How can this be acceptable when instead of seeing a decrease in development expenditure, we see an increase of RM13 billion in development expenditure of 23.21 per cent?” he added. — DayakDaily
