He said there were certain politicians drumming up claims that were “devoid of facts” to discredit his government, including the claim that Penang will receive more federal allocations than Sabah next year.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, pointed out that Sabah will get RM6.84 billion in allocations for development projects under the 2024 budget, compared to just RM1.4 billion for Penang.
“They want to attract public support, so sometimes they twist (our) statements. We have taken more action in the past year than (the previous administrations did) in the 10 years prior to that.
“We’ve transferred the authority to set the electricity tariff in Sabah to (the state government). We’ve transferred the authority to handle small projects to the Sabah government.
“We’ve increased federal allocations to Sabah. We’ve appointed representatives from Sabah and Sarawak to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN),” he said at an event in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, today.
He urged Sabahans to ignore such claims, adding that they were made by politicians who had their own agenda.
Anwar said Sabah required a much higher allocation as the state was plagued by various problems, including those connected with its roads, schools, and electricity and water supply.
“So, those in the west, don’t oppose (a higher allocation for Sabah), while those in Sabah, please be a bit thankful. Don’t be angry anymore.
“Even those who were in power before had never increased allocations for Sabah. But when I took over (Putrajaya) a year ago, I increased (the allocation) from RM5 billion two years ago to RM6.84 billion for 2024.”
He also said Sabah received RM16.2 billion from the RM78 billion set aside for operational expenditure.
Anwar said there was a need to ensure that funds set aside for the state were spent on improving its infrastructure.
He also said his government backed Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor’s administration, due to the state government’s cooperation and performance.
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