Higher special grant for Sarawak soon

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reiterated his belief that Sarawak’s special grant should be reviewed and increased in line with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“Negotiations have been held between Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican and Sarawak state secretary Abu Bakar Marzuki.

“So this will be approved as soon as possible,” he told the Dewan Rakyat in response to a question from Doris Sophia Brodi (GPS-Sri Aman).

Doris asked whether Putrajaya planned to raise the amount of the special grant for Sarawak since Sabah’s had increased from RM600 million to RM1.5 billion.

In January 2023, shortly after taking office, Anwar said the special grants to Sabah and Sarawak should be reviewed once every five years so that a “more reasonable” amount is channelled to the Bornean states.