KUCHING: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s unsatisfactory response to Sarawak’s request for its share of tourism tax revenue has not gone down well with the State Reform Party Sarawak (STAR).
Lim had demanded that Sarawak should settle its RM2.5 billion debt to the federal government first.
Expressing shock and disbelief, STAR president Lina Soo (pic) said it was the first time in the history of Malaysia that a federal Finance Minister was retaliating in such an unseemly manner publicly.
“This is an overkill as the state Tourism Minister was merely asking for Sarawak’s share of the tourism tax revenue as was promised by the federal government,” she said.
On the state-federal debt, she said the proper procedure would have been for the Finance Minister to approach the Sarawak Finance Minister.
Soo questioned Lim on Sarawak’s oil and gas revenue that had gone to Malaya in the last 45 years with Sarawak receiving only five percent of the money.
“Where is the 95 percent and where is the share to assist Sarawak in reducing poverty, building roads and providing piped water to all households?” she asked.
Soo suggested that the state government should demand that Putrajaya repatriate to Sarawak the billions that “Petronas had exploited and siphoned off from Sarawak oil and gas under the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA)”.
She said had it been for the oil and gas revenues of Sarawak and Sabah expropriated under PDA, Malaya would never have had the superhighways, transportation and skyscrapers built on a scale seen today.
Soo also reminded Lim on the election pledge of 20 percent oil royalty and 50 percent tax proceeds that were supposed to have been returned to Sarawak but which had yet to be fulfilled.
“The people of Sarawak have been duped by false promises,” she added.
