Eric Tay Says Sarawak Deserves Fairer Share in Federal Budget Allocation

suppadmin | October 10, 2025

Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Councillor Eric Tay Tze Kok has urged the federal government to review the 2026 Federal Budget, stressing that Sarawak deserves a fairer allocation that reflects its geographical, economic, and demographic realities.

He noted that while Sabah received RM6.9 billion and Sarawak RM6.0 billion, the RM900 million gap should not be viewed solely based on population size.

“Sabah receiving RM900 million more may appear reasonable at first glance, but Sarawak faces a faster ageing population, broader medical service coverage, and much higher operational costs in remote areas. If allocations are based only on population, they ignore Sarawak’s unique structural challenges,” Tay said.

He highlighted that the Ministry of Health (MOH) was allocated RM46.5 billion under the 2026 Federal Budget, with RM2 billion earmarked for hospital and clinic upgrades nationwide. However, he questioned how much of this would actually benefit Sarawak.

“Our hospitals and clinics are old, we face staff shortages, and transportation costs remain high. With more elderly residents requiring chronic and long-term care, Sarawak needs greater—not lesser—healthcare funding,” he stressed.

Tay also voiced concern over the RM2.2 billion flood mitigation allocation covering 43 projects nationwide, urging the federal government to clarify how many of these projects are in Sarawak.

“Flooding continues to affect areas like Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, and Sarikei. We call for transparency on whether Sarawak is among the key beneficiaries,” he said.

He further noted that the federal government had recovered RM15.5 billion in misappropriated funds and saved another RM15.5 billion through subsidy reforms, proving that Malaysia has sufficient fiscal space to support states in greater need.

“Since the country has recovered and saved over RM30 billion, part of these funds should be channelled to compensate Sarawak for the petroleum revenues and development resources it has lost over the years. As a founding partner of Malaysia, Sarawak deserves a fairer share,” he said.

Tay added that despite the RM470 billion total national budget, Sarawak’s RM6.0 billion allocation remains disproportionately small.

“As a federal partner under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), Sarawak rightfully deserves a larger allocation—ideally around one-third of the total budget—to develop infrastructure, healthcare, transport, and education,” he said.

He concluded that Sarawak’s long-term progress depends on a balanced and needs-based federal approach.

“Sarawak cannot be overlooked simply because of our smaller population. We are vast, sparsely populated, and face higher infrastructure and logistics costs. What we seek is not excess, but fairness, transparency, and allocations that genuinely benefit the people,” Tay said.