KUCHING: The increased development allocation to Sarawak amounting to RM4.6bil allocation will enable many water, electricity and road infrastructure projects as well as education and health facilities, says Tupong assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman.

       He said that the "I hope the commitment of the Federal government to develop the state will continue and that more allocations can be given for development projects in the future," he said.

       Educator Cyril Dason said the development allocation should be spent wisely to improve the rural areas in Sarawak, especially in providing quality basic amenities.

       "In general I'm happy to see more allocations for Sabah and Sarawak," he said.

       However, the Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association said Budget 2022 should have included a higher allocation to improve the livelihood of Dayak villages and communities.

       Its president Gary Ningkan noted that RM274mil had been allocated for the Orang Asli community for various subsidies, school aid and welfare aid.

       "Rural Sarawak comprising the Dayak community is among the poorest in Malaysia, yet there is no specific allocation to improve their livelihood, particularly pertaining to education and business subsidies," he said.

       On the RM4.6bil development allocation for Sarawak, Gary said it was lower than the RM5.2bil for Sabah, although Sarawak was a bigger state.

       "It is also not much more than last year's allocation of RM4.5bil. There is a need for a greater influx of development funds if we are serious about getting Sarawak to be on par with Peninsular Malaysia," he said.