A RM2 billion increase in allocations for Sabah, Sarawak, Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras, he said, will help to unite Malaysia.
“Giving the four critical sectors an extra RM500 million each or an additional RM2 billion in budget allocation amounts to 0.1% of the budget deficit,” he said in a statement.
Recently, Pakatan Harapan expressed unhappiness over the budget allocations and called for more to be given to Sabah and Sarawak, saying the budget should be fair for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion, gender or region.
Lim said the additional allocation for the two states was important for their economic recovery and to overcome the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The additional RM2 billion on top of the RM332 billion Budget 2022 will not materially affect the federal government’s debt or budget deficit of 6.5% this year and 6% next year but may be critical to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic and economic recession,” he said.
He said the allocations should be based on needs that could provide socio-economic justice, effective outcomes and unite the people.
Lim also criticised PAS for opposing the additional allocations, saying: “Using racism to justify the distribution of government allocations would not only be divisive but also lead to cronyism, corruption and abuse of power on the use of government funds and resources.”
He also accused PAS of continuing to use racism and extremism as political weapons to gain support by rejecting allocations to non-Bumiputeras.
“DAP regrets that PAS MPs continue to oppose the additional allocations not on the basis of economic rationale but on race.
“PAS MPs oppose DAP’s suggestion by claiming it is not fair for non-Bumiputeras to also get an extra RM500 million since they only comprise 30% of the population.
“DAP does not object to the RM11.4 billion allocation for Bumiputeras but urges more and fairer allocations for Sabah, Sarawak and all Malaysians. Using racist or extremist sentiments in budget allocations will not help in saving lives and livelihoods of the poor and businesses, especially SMEs,” he said.