Cherishe Ng
KUCHING (Sept 30): Sarawak would be receiving less than 10 per cent of the 50 per cent federal basic infrastructure funds allocated to the six states lagging behind in development under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), if the funds were to be shared equally among them.
In pointing this out, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak Women secretary Cherishe Ng said this would be inadequate and unfair as Sarawak is a major contributor to the national coffers through taxes and revenue from its oil and gas industry.
“The federal government needs to review the meagre allocation for Sarawak to at least 30 per cent of the overall budget for basic infrastructure, if it were indeed sincere to redress the problems in Sarawak,” she said in a statement yesterday.
According to the 12MP, at least 50 per cent of development expenditure will be allocated to six least-developed states – Sarawak, Sabah, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis – to ensure a more balanced regional growth and reduce development gaps.
Ng also urged the federal government to build more hospitals in Sarawak as well as expedite the completion of the Pan-Borneo Highway.
She proposed that more hospitals be built in line with the 12MP’s objective of ‘strengthening safety, wellness and inclusiveness’ to transform the state’s health services into a vanguard for safeguarding the health of the people.
“It is a regret to note that the 12MP has left out constructing new hospitals altogether and in lieu of which, 26 clinics are planned in the two states of Sabah and Sarawak.”
Ng, who is a PKR Sarawak’s candidate for the Batu Lintang state seat in the forthcoming election, said building new hospitals was highly essential amidst the current pandemic, particularly when hospitals were running short of beds and treatment facilities.
“Health services have now become the most important global issue in the face of an unprecedented pandemic, and the sparse population and backwardness in health infrastructure of the state has made it vulnerable to the virus attack.”
While clinics are important, Ng said they will not be as helpful as hospitals when treating severe cases that require medical attention of specialists and intensive care units (ICUs) facilities.
“Furthermore, the 26 clinics are shared between the two states of Sabah and Sarawak, meaning Sarawak is given less than 20 clinics – an allocation that seems negligible in strengthening the health services infrastructures considering the geographical vastness of the state.”
She also noted that the only road project for Sarawak in the 12MP is the Nanga Pelagus Road linking the Kapit town, while the completion of the Pan Borneo Highway has not been specifically mentioned.
Ng said building roads is the very foundation of development and without such infrastructure being constructed, all talks of development are ‘futile’.
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