KUCHING, Sept 15: Restoration of Sarawak’s eroded rights based on the Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63) should be expedited to retain the spirit of partnership and equality between Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.
This is the hope of Tupong assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman in conjunction with the 58th Malaysia Day celebrations tomorrow (Sept 16).
At the same time, he held that the Federal government must continue to support development in Sarawak by providing adequate allocations for infrastructure projects.
“This is necessary to address the perception that Sarawak is being treated as a ‘stepchild’ by the Federal government.
“The distribution of allocations from the Federal government should also be provided based on area size and not the total population, where Sarawak is the largest State in Malaysia.
“If the allocation to Sarawak remains based on its total population, then it would simply be inadequate for the implementation of development projects in the State,” he said in a statement today.
On education, Fazzrudin said a large allocation should also be given to Sarawak considering the situation of schools, the locations and distribution of students in the State, including those in rural areas.
Under the new leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, he expressed hope that the interests of Sarawak will continue to be prioritised, highlighted in future policy and discussions in the national level. — DayakDaily
