Abang Johari (second left) witnesses the swearing in of federation committee members.
KUCHING (Oct 4): Sarawak is on the verge of an agreement for the federal government to return a certain percentage of tax revenue collected from the state, said Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
The Premier said appointing a Sarawakian representative on the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), a right listed in the Inter-Governmental Committee report, would enable the amount of tax revenue collected from the state to be determined.
“Once when you are there (on the LHDN board), you will know how much is the tax revenue collected nationwide and how much Sarawak has contributed to the national coffers.
“So, if we know the amount, then we want a certain formula or percentage of the tax revenue collected from Sarawak to be given back to Sarawak, based on a reasonable formula. I think the federal government is about to agree on this,” Abang Johari said during the installation night for the Federation of Chinese Associations Sarawak and Federation of Chinese Associations, Kuching, Samarahan and Serian Division committees for 2022 to 2025 here last night.
Aside from the return of tax revenue collected, Abang Johari said another issue the state government is currently negotiating with the federal government on is the formula to determine the annual financial grant for Sarawak as enshrined under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution.
With the 15th General Election to be called very soon, Abang Johari said Sarawakians should provide a strong electoral victory to the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition for a stronger voice in Parliament.
Abang Johari stressed GPS is fighting for the long-term interests of Sarawak as the coalition has learnt from the shortcomings of the past.
He said the political coalition will head into the next parliamentary election on its own for the first time in history.
According to him, GPS has proven itself to be a caring government for all races, particularly over the past two years during the Covid-19 pandemic, with Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance (BKSS) packages worth RM6.7 billion in total.
On reclaiming of the state’s rights as enshrined under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), Abang Johari said the state had scored numerous successes including amending the Federal Constitution to reflect the spirit of MA63 and autonomy over gas distribution in Sarawak.
“I also pursued the matter and changed the title of the chief minister’s post to premier. It is not that I want to have the premier title but the change reflects our state’s position in the Federation of Malaysia,” he said.
He explained the name of the state’s highest office should not be the same as that of Penang and Melaka, where both government heads are called chief minister.
He said other successes included imposing the state sales tax on exported petroleum products, doubling the state’s revenue in the past five years, and autonomy over the issuance of deep-sea fishing licences.
Abang Johari also pointed out the Sarawak government is now shifting towards a green economy via the utilisation of hydrogen power and realising the goals of the ambitious Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
He explained the cost of producing hydrogen had been lowered from 60 kilowatt per hour to about 38 kilowatt per hour to produce 1kg of hydrogen.
“We have also amended our state Land Code and we are planning to embark into carbon storage, where we capture the carbon and store it in our areas. To do carbon storage, the earth’s geological structure must be stable,” he added.
Abang Johari (front third left) and Wee are seen during a photo call after committee members signed their oath of office.
On a separate matter, Abang Johari stated education is key to transform the livelihoods of Sarawakians, whether its via a national syllabus, Chinese-medium syllabus, or an international syllabus.
He said the state government would continue to adhere to the stand of using both Bahasa Malaysia and English in public service.
For the development of the Chinese community, Abang Johari announced an allocation of RM200,000 for the Federation of Chinese Associations, Kuching, Samarahan and Serian Division and a 1:1 matching grant to construct the Federation of Chinese Associations Sarawak headquarters.
Among those in attendance were deputy premiers Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, as well as president for both Federation of Chinese Associations Sarawak and the Federation of Chinese Associations, Kuching, Samarahan and Serian Division Datuk Richard Wee.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3SO6gts
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