Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 26, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sarawak government has not yet accepted an offer from Putrajaya for autonomy, said the state’s Pakatan Harapan chairman Chong Chieng Jen.

The state government did not explain its stand on the matter, Chong told the media at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

“They did not give a reason, just no response,” he said.

Chong, the member of parliament for Stampin in Sarawak, said Pakatan had in its manifesto stated that if the coalition took over Putrajaya, it would offer Sarawak 20% of gross value from oil extracted within the state as royalties, plus 50% of taxes collected in the state.

“In return, the state government will take up the responsibility and financial burden of the state ministry of health and ministry of education in Sarawak. This has been our proposal in our manifesto, meaning we pay for our own teachers, doctors and nurses, and medicine that we procure,” he said.

“So it is a whole package, it is in line with the pursuit for more autonomy for the state government,” he added.

Under these circumstances, Chong, who is also deputy minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs, said the federal government is not able to devolve power to the state.

Chong said the additional oil royalties of 15%, from 5% currently, will amount to about RM4.5 billion to RM5 billion a year, and 50% of all taxes collected in Sarawak would amount to around RM3.5 billion a year, as Sarawak contributes about RM7 billion in tax collection.

Hence, he said the total amount to be paid to Sarawak will be approximately RM8 billion.

Chong said the Pakatan coalition’s member parties have signed an agreement on these promises, and have submitted the agreement to the state government.

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