Sabah and Sarawak development progress under the Unity Government

13 October 2023

By AVV

KOTA KINABALU: In a significant stride towards fulfilling the agreements made in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, the Unity Government has made notable progress in the development of Sabah and Sarawak.

Prime Minister Datuk Anwar Ibrahim when tabling the National Budget at the Dewan Rakyat today said the increase of Federal allocation for Sarawak's development in the upcoming year from RM 5.6 billion to RM 5.8 billion.

Similarly, Sabah's development allocation has risen from RM 6.5 billion to RM 6.6 billion. To enhance implementation efficiency, the Federal Government has delegated the authority for development projects below RM50 million to the technical agencies of Sabah and Sarawak.

He also announced the interim Special Grant for Sarawak and Sabah to RM 300 million, in contrast to the previous allocations of RM 16 million for Sarawak and RM 125.6 million for Sabah. The last review of the Special Grant for Sarawak and Sabah took place in 1969 and 2022, respectively.

The Malaysian Inland Revenue Board (Amendment) Bill 2023 was approved in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday to allocate a representative of the Sabah State Government named as the Chief Minister of Sabah and a representative of the Sarawak State Government named as the Premier of Sarawak in line with the results of the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) Report 1963.

The Federal Government, in collaboration with the Sabah State Government, has reached an agreement regarding the transfer of control over the electricity supply, which will come into effect on January 3, 2024.

While the power of supervision will be handed over to the Sabah State Government, the Federal Government will continue to support and strengthen the electricity supply industry in Sabah through subsidies to Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), until the successful implementation of the SESB Transformation Plan by 2030.

To ensure stability and reduce disruptions in the electricity supply, particularly in the eastern region of Sabah, the Federal Government will provide support for the implementation of hybrid solar power generation and the construction of electrical transmission networks in southern Sabah.

He said they are currently in negotiations to transfer the Bintulu Port and the operation of Rural Air Services (RAS) to the state government.