KOTA KINABALU: It is time for a revision of parliamentary funds due to the rising cost of development, says Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin (pic).

       The Sabah Deputy Chief Minister said RM3.5mil per year allocated for a parliamentary constituency was no longer sufficient, more so for bigger areas such as Kinabatangan.

       "The size of Kinabatangan itself is already as big as the state of Pahang so the funds given are definitely not enough to carry out development programmes," he said.

       Bung said this during his debate for the Budget 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat recently.

       He said such limited funds hinder MPs from delivering their development promises and carrying out duties for their people.

       "It will also cause the government’s vision of urbanising rural areas, especially in Sabah, to fail," he said, adding that the allocated funds should be channeled to the state government as soon as possible so that development programmes can start immediately.

       Bung suggested a 10% raise in funding from Budget 2022 so that MPs in Sabah would be able to bring much needed development for their constituents, and gradually eradicate poverty.

       He said the RM5bil annual allocation for Sabah was also insufficient for the various projects, more so with Sabah being such a huge state, bigger than the whole of the Peninsula itself.

       "If Sabah and Sarawak were to merge, we would totally cover the whole peninsula (size wise)," he said in explaining the reason behind the need for more allocations in Sabah.

       Bung said the allocation of funds worries Sabahans, and reiterated his call to have the federal government seriously relook at the distribution of money for the Peninsula, and Sabah and Sarawak.

       On other matters, he questioned the Rural and Regional Development Ministry for not preparing a database on the funds and on-going as well as upcoming projects for every parliamentary constituency in the country.

       "Databases are vital to know for sure how these developments are going and how effective they are for the people involved," he said.

       Without such databases, he said there would be no way to find out how these projects would benefit the people.