By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Jan 13: As of October 2025, Sarawak has collected RM28.5 billion in terms of State Sales Tax from Petrolium Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), says Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
In a townhall session entitling “The Premier Address: Nine Glorious Years” with Sarawak civil service held in conjunction with Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg’s Ninth Anniversary as Sarawak’s CEO, Uggah said the amount has allowed the Sarawak government to enhance its infrastructure by building bridges and roads.
He credited the achievement to Abang Johari who has been fighting hard to regain Sarawak’s eroded rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) through the ‘Sarawak First’ agenda.
To date, 29 rights have been successfully restored, while 13 are still being pursued, said Uggah.
“We will always be supporting you (Abang Johari) to make sure that our fight for MA63 becomes reality. This is our struggle.”
“We know there are some parties which try to belittle MA63, finding ways to take our rights, but people of Sarawak are ready. Any instructions from you, Yang Amat Berhormat (Abang Johari), we will go and fight those groups that try to take away our rights,” said Uggah.
Following the regain of Sarawak’s rights, apart from the new revenue derived from State Sales Tax, Sarawak also saw other successes including the appointment of Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (PETROS) as sole aggregator for gas distribution, the setting up of Development Bank of Sarawak (DBOS) and the implementation of free tertiary education of which RM250 million has been allocated, among others.
Uggah said the meaningful programme of free tertiary education would uplift Sarawak’s students by providing them with greater opportunities to receive the best education, particularly those from the B40 group.
“I did some studies and found that no states in Malaysia are able to carry out the same programme. Many talk a lot, but there is no action. Even in ASEAN, Sarawak is the only region that implements free tertiary education,” he said. —DayakDaily
