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SARAWAK Parti Keadilan Rakyat today claimed there were ‘loopholes’ in the RM50 million federal allocation to the state government to carry out SejaTi Madani community micro-economy development programmes.
It claimed that these could lead to discrimination and victimisation of communities who do not support the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government.
“We welcome the allocation, but worry that it will not be properly disbursed and fail to reach its target groups,” state PKR chairman Roland Engan said.
Engan, a native rights lawyer based in Miri is also a social activist who hails from a native longhouse in the rural Baram district.
He claimed that the state PKR had received information that Putrajaya is dispensing money through the GPS state government.
"Under the SejaTi Madani project, every kampung or longhouse is supposed to get between RM50,000 to RM100,000 for community-related micro-economy development programmes.
"These funds are from Putrajaya and aimed at helping communities uplift their economic potentials via training schemes and other supporting programmes.
"However, based on information we (Sarawak PKR) received, the state government is only going to give the SejaTi Madani funds to those longhouses and kampungs where the state government had officially appointed chieftains or headman registered with the District Office under the jurisdiction of the state government.
"That is not fair as there are many longhouses and kampungs where the residents made their own choice of who they want as their headman and we worry these will end up not getting any funds," he said.
That would result in discrimination and victimisation, stressed Engan.
The Federal Government needs to make sure the state government under GPS disburses the SejaTi Madani funds fairly to every longhouse and villages, he said.
Engan suggested that the federal and state governments form a joint-committee with all community associations and all political parties in Sarawak to ensure fair distribution of the funds. - The Vibes, May 15, 2024