Allocate funds for local councils according to population, Sibu MP suggests
by Philip Wong · Borneo Post OnlineSIBU (Nov 7): The Sarawak government must institutionalise the allocation of funds to local councils in the state based on population size to address the issue of insufficient funding faced by many of the local authorities, Sibu MP Oscar Ling said.
He said Sarawak has 25 local councils and in 2022, 10 of them were running at a deficit.
“With societal progress, public expectations and demands for local council services have been rising, especially for the maintenance and improvement of basic infrastructure,” he said in a statement.
Ling said currently, only Kuching South City Council (MBKS) and Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) have revenues exceeding RM100 million, followed by Miri City Council (MMC) with over RM90 million and Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) with over RM70 million while 12 local councils have revenues below RM10 million.
“The annual revenue of the Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) is only over RM12 million, while the revenue of the Sarikei District Council (SDC) is around RM13 million.”
Ling stressed that local councils play a crucial role in local planning and development, and limited revenue directly affects their work and services.
“Unfortunately, the state government’s annual allocation to local councils is very limited and inconsistent, which is detrimental to their future planning.”
On this, Ling suggested that the Sarawak government allocate fixed funding to local councils based on the population size of the areas under their jurisdiction.
“This would ensure that while the state government is increasing its revenue, the resources of Sarawak are shared with local councils, directly benefiting the people.”
Currently, he said many large economic projects announced by the Sarawak government appear to show that the state government is actively venturing into the business sector to make profits.
“However, even with the increase in state revenue, there has been no significant improvement in the revenue of local councils, which the state government must also address and pay attention to.”
Ling also expressed his hope to see development in Sarawak not only as an expansion of the state government’s power but also local governments or councils receiving their share.
“The decentralisation of power should not be limited to federal and state levels but should also include state and local councils.”