KOTA KINABALU: Former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak has described the 2024 Budget as the best for Sabah so far which really takes into account the interests of the people, especially in realising the agreement reached by the previous leaders in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
He said this was evidenced by the Unity Government’s MADANI Budget 2024’s decision to allocate RM12.4 billion for development in Sabah and Sarawak.
The Usukan assemblyman said out of which, RM6.6 billion was allocated to Sabah and RM5.8 billion to Sarawak next year, an increase from RM6.5 billion and RM5.6 billion respectively from this year’s budget.
“I welcome the announcement of the huge
2024 budget for Sabah and Sarawak. This shows the commitment and determination of the Unity government to fulfill the people’s expectations, especially those enshrined in MA63,” he said.
Salleh said this when asked to comment on the significance of the 2024 National Budget, especially those involving the interests of Sabah.
In tabling the national budget at the Dewan Rakyat today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in the spirit of MA63, the federal government had also delegated the power to approve development projects below RM50 million to technical agencies in both states to enhance the effectiveness of these projects.
Additionally, Anwar said the Unity Government has increased the Special Interim Grants for Sarawak and Sabah to RM300 million, compared to RM16 million for Sarawak and RM125.6 million for Sabah previously.
The last review of the grants for Sabah and Sarawak was carried out in 1968 and 2022, respectively.
According to Anwar, the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (Amendment) Bill 2023 has also been passed via a majority voice vote in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday which provides for the appointment of a representative of the Sabah state government, known as the Chief Minister of Sabah, and a representative of the Sarawak state government, known as the Premier of Sarawak, in accordance with the recommendations of the Inter-Government Committee (IGC) 1963.
The federal and the Sabah governments have also reached an agreement on the transfer of regulatory power over the electricity supply, which will come into effect on Jan 3, 2024, Anwar was quoted as saying.-pr/BNN
