Budget 2023 plans for Sabah, S'wak good but implementation key, says analyst

KOTA KINABALU: The development plans for Sabah and Sarawak under Budget 2023 look good on paper but it all boils down to actual, effective implementation, says an analyst.

Sabah Universiti Teknologi Mara political economy senior lecturer Dr Firdausi Suffian said the RM6.5bil and RM5.6bil to be channelled to Sabah and Sarawak respectively reflected both states’ contribution as economic powerhouses in terms of resources in the country.

Firdausi said that these allocations are on top of the RM260mil and RM300mil special grants given to Sabah and Sarawak respectively by Putrajaya earlier in January.

He added that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also gave substantial attention to Sabah such as on healthcare, the repair of dilapidated schools, infrastructure development, decentralisation of power and a RM20bil allocation for the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project.

“And the Prime Minister made it clear that the construction of the (Pan Borneo Highway) project must be expedited.

“Anwar also mentioned some infrastructure issues can be handled by the district level without going through the thick bureaucratic processes.

“But as much as this sounds like good news, the primary concern is always implementation.

“In the previous federal budget, Sabah was given some RM5bil under the development allocation but only 45% was utilised by the third quarter of 2022,” Firdausi said.

He added that the state’s public service also needed to be strengthened with so many projects coming into Sabah.

Anwar, in tabling the Budget on Friday (Feb 24), said RM6.5bil and RM5.6bil would be channelled to Sabah and Sarawak respectively to promote development in the states.

This included RM2.5bil for the execution of public infrastructure development projects in Sabah and Sarawak involving road projects, street lights as well as water and electric supply.

The Prime Minister also said the construction of the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway and Sarawak-Sabah Link Road will be expedited involving an overall cost of RM20bil and ranging over 1,000km.

He added that there will be an allocation of RM50mil for Sabah and Sarawak state governments to expedite federal projects in both states.

Firdausi said the Prime Minister somewhat surprised analysts in a pleasant way after tabling the biggest budget ever in the nation’s history, including allocating the largest ever development budget for Sabah and Sarawak to date.

“This (allocation to Sabah and Sarawak) is the obvious ‘wow’ factor,” he said, adding the RM6.5bil given to Sabah almost matched the state’s RM6.6bil revenue obtained last year.

He said he was however disappointed that the premier did not touch on ways to address the unemployment issues in Sabah and Sarawak.

“Sabah has the highest unemployment rate meaning, more investment is needed.

“Another matter lacking is how the Federal Government intended to attract businesses to embark on ventures in the state,” Firdausi said.