The Malaysian Insight

SABAH is less strident in its dealings with the Peninsular-based federal government because its leaders prefer to employ diplomacy to ensure the state continues to enjoy equal rights with the other states of Malaysia, Umno minister Salleh Said Keruak said.

Salleh, who was Sabah chief minister from 1994 to 1996, said leaders of the Bornean state had always pursued its rights through amicable discussions.

“For a long time our leaders have always used wisdom as their approach. Having an amicable negotiation is the best approach as it is in line with our culture,” the Communications and Multimedia Minister said in an interview with The Malaysian Insight for Malaysia Day. 

Salleh was explaining why Sabah had not been as vocal as its  neighbour, Sarawak, on issues of autonomy and state rights. A recent example was Putrajaya’s decision to impose a tourism tax. 

The tax which was at first introduced for both domestic and foreign tourists, highlighted divisions between the federal government and Sabah and Sarawak leaders, who wanted its implementation deferred. They were also concerned over how revenue from the tax would be divided among the states, noting that the East Malaysian states had been carrying out tourism promotions at their own expense and not under federal budgets.

The tax went into effect on September 1.

Sarawak has been more vocal in its objections to the tax, with state tourism minister Abdul Karim Hamzah saying that the state planned to have tourism removed from the federal list under the 9th schedule of the Federal Constitution. 

The Sarawak administration, although essentially a Barisan National government, has also displayed more independence, as seen in the forming of its own oil firm, Petros, and its own state development bank. Among citizens, calls for autonomy from Malaysia have been loudest from Sarawak’s civil society groups. 

Sarawak, overall, has also shown greater verve in pursuing its rights under the 1963 Malaysia Agreement which bound the state, Sabah, Malaya and Singapore together to form Malaysia. The state government recently said it would send a team of lawyers to London to study the Agreement for any references to the state’s rights.

Sarawak has also never allowed ruling Malay party Umno, to set foot in the state. Umno made its entry into Sabah in 1994 following a controversial state election that year after which several Parti Bersatu Sabah lawmakers defected to Barisan Nasional, resulting in a takeover of the state.

‘Sabah never neglected’

Salleh said Putrajaya had never neglected the Sabah, the country’s second largest and resource-rich state, and this was proven in the allocations it received every year. 

“Every state wants to be developed. It’s not true (that Sabah is left out) because the budget allocated to Sabah every year is the proof. 

“Now, we have many Sabah representatives in Cabinet (and) I can directly communicate with the prime minister.”

In 2017 Budget, Putrajaya allocated RM20 million for the state’s native customary land mapping and RM323 million to upgrade the Eastern Sabah Security Command with new vessels and a sea-based facility. 

Sabah also received a total of RM3.116 billion in federal government grants or provisions from 2014 until 2016. 

Salleh disagreed with arguments that compared developments between Sabah, among the poorest states in Malaysia by GDP per capita, with other states, saying “geographical factors” played an important role.

“It’s unfair to compare the level of development in Sabah and Peninsula. (Because) the government will look at priority matters when developing an area. 

“Rural areas are big but the population is small. Like Kinabatangan, the area is as big as Pahang but the population number is not the same. 

“What’s important is to provide the basic necessities based on priorities,” said the minister who was born in 1957, the same year as Malaya’s independence. 

Sabah, with 73 state and 25 parliamentary constituencies, has long been seen as a “fixed deposit” of votes for BN. 

Salleh, who is also formerly the state speaker, said he welcomed the birth of new opposition parties which he said will help “spur politics in Sabah”, but added that he believed the people would continue to support BN which had brought much development to the state. – September 17, 2017.