DEBAK: Sarawak’s decision to impose sales tax on gas produced by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) increased state revenue by about RM4 billion annually, strengthening its capacity to fund development projects independently.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the tax was introduced after the state government asserted its rights over gas resources, and pursued legal action when PETRONAS initially disputed Sarawak’s authority to impose the levy.
“PETRONAS did not want to pay. They said Sarawak had no right to impose the tax. So, we brought the matter to court and eventually we won,” he said at the ‘Majlis Pemimpin Bersama Rakyat’ programme at the DUN Saribas level today.
He said the additional revenue enabled the state government to finance major infrastructure projects, including the construction of more than 20 bridges costing nearly RM7 billion.
Abang Johari said several bridge projects had previously been cancelled after the change of federal administration when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad returned as Prime Minister and Lim Guan Eng served as the Finance Minister.
“Projects that had already been included in the budget were cancelled. But we told them, if you cancel them, we will build them ourselves,” he said.
He added that the increase in revenue contributed to the rise in Sarawak’s annual income from about RM6 billion previously to around RM14 billion.
“With a stronger economy, we are able to implement policies, including free university tuition for Sarawakian students,” he said.
He said the initiative covers 68 academic programmes, mainly in science-based fields as well as psychology, accounting, finance, law and medicine.
Abang Johari said Sarawak currently faced a shortage of about 4,000 doctors and would increase scholarship support for medical studies at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
He added that RM260 million had been allocated this year to support 10,000 students, with about 5,000 already registered under Yayasan Sarawak at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, ICATS University College, Curtin University Malaysia, and Universiti Teknologi Sarawak (UTS) in Sibu.
