No State Neglected, Allocations Based on People’s Needs – PM
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim denied allegations that certain states have been neglected in the distribution of Federal Government allocations, instead stressing that allocations are channelled based on development needs and the welfare of the people, rather than the amount of tax revenue collected.
He said claims that the government practices unfair treatment towards certain states are baseless because all states have received increased allocations compared to before, according to their respective needs.
“It is completely untrue that certain states are being neglected or marginalised.
“If we want to compare, I want to stress here that it is the Madani Government that has provided the highest allocations to states such as Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan, compared to before.
“We defend this decision based on urgent needs, including flood mitigation projects, upgrading highways and new roads, the Sabah and Sarawak Pan Borneo Project, water supply facilities, drainage, poverty eradication, schools and infrastructure development,” he said during the Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQT) in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said this in response to a question from Datuk Seri Doris Sophia Brodi (GPS-Sri Aman) who sought clarification regarding claims that Federal Government allocations to state governments were unfair and insufficient compared to the revenue collected.
According to Anwar, states such as Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu received far higher allocations compared to the tax revenue they contributed to the Federal Government.
He said Kelantan’s average tax revenue for the period 2023 to 2025 was RM946 million, yet Federal Government expenditure in that state reached RM8.9 billion.
“For Kedah, the average tax revenue received by the Federal Government was RM3.7 billion, while expenditure totalled RM9.5 billion.
“Terengganu contributed around RM2.2 billion to RM2.4 billion including oil revenue, but received RM7.8 billion in allocations during the same period,” he said.
Commenting on Selangor and Penang, Anwar said both states are exceptions because they have strategic economic positions and contribute high tax revenue to the Federal Government.
He said Selangor’s average tax revenue for the period 2023 to 2025 was RM43.6 billion compared to Federal expenditure of RM15 billion, while Penang contributed RM10.7 billion with expenditure of RM7.9 billion.
He said the government’s approach is not based solely on revenue returns, but instead takes into account development needs and the welfare of the people in every state.
Meanwhile, Anwar also described the agreement between the Federal Government and Sarawak regarding port management as a historic achievement resulting from negotiations that respected the spirit of the Federal Constitution.
He said after reaching an agreement to hand over port management rights to the Sarawak Government, the state government handed over a cash payment of RM1.8 billion to the Federal Government.
“This is a record in history because it is the first time a state government has handed over a cash cheque to the Federal Government as a result of negotiations conducted amicably and respecting the rights of both parties,” he said.
In that regard, Anwar stressed that the Madani Government will continue to maintain the approach of negotiation and fair distribution of allocations to ensure that no state is marginalised.
“I hope this explanation can put to rest the allegations and slander that certain states are being neglected or marginalised. The fact is, the government provides allocations based on the needs of the people and state development,” he said.
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