KOTA KINABALU: Sindumin assemblyman Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob wants Sabah to reform its management system so that it can catch up to Sarawak in terms of development.
Debating on the 2024 Sabah state budget during the State Legislative Assembly sitting, he highlighted Sabah's continuing fall behind Sarawak.
"Sarawak's 2024 budget is RM12.36 billion, while Sabah's is RM5.71 billion. Sarawak allocates RM9.04 billion for development, whereas Sabah only allocates RM950 million, a mere 10 per cent of Sarawak's development budget," he said.
Dr Yusof raised questions about efficiency and the optimal utilisation of resources.
He added that Sarawak, which has a more complex administration and a larger land area, spent only RM3.28 billion on administration, while Sabah allocated a comparatively higher amount of RM4.25 billion.
"This isn't an attempt to ridicule our state's administration but serves as a wake-up call to political leaders, senior civil servants, and corporate players, especially government-linked companies (GLCs) leaders and management entrusted to generate income for the state."
He stressed the importance of questioning whether the state's income sources were insufficient, considering that Sabah's GLCs provided less than RM150 million and Sarawak's GLCs contributed more than RM1 billion.
Despite having a comparable geographical area and forming Malaysia in 1963, the political system and leadership in Sarawak differ greatly, he claimed.
"This comparison might not be pleasing to everyone, but it is crucial to address these issues for documentation and future reference," he said.
Dr Yusof also inquired about the factors that contributed to Sabah's decline from one of the richest states in Malaysia in the 1960s to the worst in Malaysia today, with eight districts in Sabah currently listed as the poorest in the country.
Another perplexing observation, he said, was the difference in the number of chief ministers.
"Since gaining independence, Sarawak has had only six chief ministers, whereas Sabah has had 16," he said.
The realisation that Sabah had become a political game by others demands attention, he said.