Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has once against given Sarawak a raw deal in the 2014 Budget, says the MP for Bandar Kuching and Sarawak DAP chairperson Chong Chieng Jen.

"Sarawak is getting a raw deal again. Out of a total RM3.54 billion in development expenditure for the Ministry of Works for roads and bridges, Sarawak is only getting RM217 million.

NONE"That is only a meagre 6.12 percent of the total allocation given to Sarawak, which is approximately one-third in land size and accounts for 10 percent of the population of Malaysia.

"The 6.12 percent is most unfair and highly discriminatory against Sarawakians. That is surely an odd way of rewarding Sarawak for being BN's ‘fixed deposit state'," Chong said in a statement today.

He said the Dayaks in Sarawak are also being forgotten, for "there was nothing for the Dayaks, while there is a specific RM44 million allocated for ‘Peningkatan taraf hidup Orang Asli' under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development for the Orang Asli in West Malaysia.

‘This is an utter neglect of the backwardness and standard of living among the rural Dayaks in Sarawak."

Chong said the deficit of RM40 billion is the 17th continuous year of budget deficit.

"Already by the end of this year, the government debt is estimated to reach 54 percent of the GDP, with 55 percent of the GDP being the legally allowed limit for government debt.

"With another RM40 billion deficit, which will have to be financed by debt, this will surely push our government debt beyond the 55 percent limit by the end of 2014.

"This figure does not include debts owed by government-linked companies, which are guaranteed by the government. The only conclusion one can draw from this 17th continuous year of deficit and huge government debt is a clear sign of financial mismanagement, wastage and rampant corruption," he added.

Development expenditure grossly insufficient

Chong lamented that only 17.6 percent or (RM46.5 billion) of the expenditure is for development expenditure.

"This is grossly insufficient. A fair proportion is about 40 to 50 percent of the expenditure should go to development expenditure.

"This ratio (17.6 percent) is even worse than the 2013 budget when RM49.7 billion out of RM251.6 billion (19.7 percent) was allocated for development expenditure," he said, pointing out what this implied was that with more money for administration, wastage would continue to worsen.

"In short, the true colours of Najib and the BN are being revealed, with the general election being over.

"This is also a clear proof of mismanagement of our country's finances. In the end, the middle-and lower-income earners will be forced to pay for the wastage and corruption of BN government," Chong added.

Expressing similar sentiments, Sarawak Workers Party president Larry Sng said that he was disappointed with the budget as he was expecting more funding for Sarawak.

"Government subsidies are cut. GST will be implemented, and there is no funding for roads to Kapit.

"The PM has failed yet again in bridging the economic gap between East and West Malaysia," Sng said, pointing out that 1Malaysia was full of empty promises.

"In reality, we are further behind and more divided than before."