If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
– John F. Kennedy, 35th president of USA
It is undeniable that Sarawak has progressed massively financially under the tutelage of Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg. Since taking office, efforts have been made to increase Sarawak’s revenue, diversifying income to bring the state to the next level.
This in turn, spurred development in the Borneo state, elevating its status to be on par, development-wise with its counterparts in Malaya.
It is no secret that we have been playing second fiddle to the states in Malaya in terms of our infrastructure, but this has somewhat changed.
On Thursday, Sarawak reached its milestone by garnering its highest revenue ever in a financial year.
In 2022, the state’s actual revenue performance surpassed its projected revenue by 17 per cent from RM10.2 billion to RM11.9 billion.
Tax revenue contributed RM6.7 billion or 56 per cent of the total revenue, while the other categories made up 44 per cent.
“Under the tax revenue category, SST contributed 84 per cent or RM5.6 billion of the total tax revenue collected. The taxable products under SST, among others, comprise oil and gas products, palm oil products and aluminium.
“The improved performance in SST collection was due to higher market prices in 2022 for oil and gas products as well as palm oil products,” he told a press conference.
This is a positive development and showed that Sarawak has been right in its economic policies under the current government.
Besides the ability to inject more funds towards development, it meant that more aid can be given to the people, helping tide them over in the current economic situation.
It is also a step towards the fulfilment of the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 vision where Sarawak is tipped to have a high-income economy by the year 2030.
However, there is a lingering feeling that we still have a lot to catch up on, particularly on the livelihood of the people.
While assistance has been forthcoming in the shape of subsidies – where the discounts on electricity bills are extended by another six months as announced by the Premier – more can be done.
The schemes that are offered by the government to assist new and existing businesses are there, but somehow access or exposure to it is lacking.
The same goes for training schemes and programmes which are all implemented to help the people to increase their incomes.
Sarawak has adopted a business-friendly policy under the current government and it has reaped fruit, with investments aplenty coming into the state.
This allowed the industry to explore other niches that are suitable for Sarawak, leveraging on its natural resources.
While this has been crucial to the growth of the revenues, efforts and opportunities to expand and empower its human capital must be expanded.
PCDS2030 has outlined the vision to increase the average household income from the current RM5,000 to RM16,000 per month by 2030, through equitable distribution of wealth – the framework for such must be formulated.
The question of the people’s minds now is how? How can every Tom, Dick and Harry increase their income and bring home a little something extra to their families?
It should not be exclusively through the pathway of entrepreneurship which has been the recommended route for such, but also through legislative actions that mandates the periodic review of wage scale for civil servants and private sector employees.
The reality of it now is that not everyone has the resources and business acumen to start their own businesses, some are surviving from one pay cheque to the next.
The imposition of the new minimum wage last year to RM1,500 has incited furore from employers and businesses, with them highlighting the plight to follow suit.
But as businesses recover along with the economy, tax breaks should be in order along with necessary assistances to the ailing ones.
Cascading of wealth should not only mean benefiting the business owners and shareholders or the top 20 per cent, but also the working class.
While the government is opening its doors to businesses through the awarding of government tenders and jobs, the windfall must be felt across the board.
That is the fulfilment of the PCDS2030 vision, whereby equitable distribution of wealth reaches the bottom 40 per cent.
Otherwise, we will never get rid of the ‘rich state, poor people’ perception.
We wouldn’t want to appear tone-deaf and flaunting our riches while a portion of the population is tightening their belt.
‘Rich state, rich people’ is the way forward.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
