In an interview at the beginning of the week, the former Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, has called on Sarawak, which is now recognized as a high-income state, to help the poorer Malaysian states in their development.
With Sarawak's budget amounting to RM11 billion, much higher than Kedah's budget of only RM700 million, Dr. Mahathir stressed the need to distribute wealth among the states within the framework of Malaysia's federation.
The World Bank has recently declared Sarawak as the fourth highest state in gross national income per capita, with an income of US$16,560, despite the state's poverty rate of 10.8%.
Looking at this declaration, Dr. Mahathir thinks that since Sarawak has overcome economic challenges before, it is now his turn to provide support to less able states.
Criticizing Dr. Mahathir's proposal firmly, Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg firmly said Dr. Mahathir's proposal. Mahathir as "unreasonable."
He stressed that Sarawak's priority at the moment is to improve the living standards of its own people, especially those in rural areas where many basic needs are still not met.
Adhering to the principle of "charity begins at home," Abang Johari emphasized that Sarawak used the state's own funds to upgrade important infrastructure such as schools.
In addition, political analyst Professor Datuk Dr. Jayum Jawan Empaling classified the motion of Dr. Mahathir is not appropriate.
He was disappointed and concerned, insisting that the responsibility should lie with the leaders of the poorer states to improve the productivity of their governance instead of relying on Sarawak's wealth.
Jayum stressed that it is very important for those states to stand on their own feet and work hard to achieve success, not just waiting for help from other parties.
He emphasized that although Sarawak has achieved success under effective leadership, many states in Peninsular Malaysia have fallen far behind in development due to poor management.
This discussion highlights different views and opens the question: Why is Sarawak proposed to help poor states, when this responsibility should be borne by the federal state?
