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Kota Kinabalu: Umno Supreme Council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan agrees with his former boss Najib Razak’s “look to Borneo” proposal but says the federal government must have the courage to implement such a big change.

Rahman, who was a minister in the former prime minister’s Cabinet, is confident Sabah and Sarawak could be the new economic catalysts for Malaysia but this needs the government to overhaul its economic strategy.

Adding on to Najib’s proposal, he said he had suggested several improvements when he was the minister in charge of the economic planning unit in the Prime Minister’s department.

One suggestion, he said, was that the federal government should channel cash allocations directly to the state governments instead of through the federal ministries.

“The state government will identify the suitable projects, manage the tender process, monitor the projects’ status, carry out the audit and report everything back to the federal government later,” he said, in Facebook posting.

“With cash allocations, the Sabah and Sarawak governments can improve efficiency in its delivery system (as) the state ministry officers are unable to maximise their performance because they are managing projects based on small state fundings.

Rahman said with Sabah and Sarawak having similar ministries to those under the federal government, many of the tasks could be taken over by the states without any significant issues.

“With this approach, the two state governments can decide which project to prioritise for the good of their people.

“Decisions are no more dictated by bureaucrats who sit far away in Putrajaya who would not fully understand the needs of locals in Sabah and Sarawak.

Besides that, he said, the federal government would also save a lot on management costs with its officers not having to fly repeatedly and stay in hotels in the two states.

Najib

“This is a win-win-win situation for everyone, with the federal government drastically reducing management costs, state government maximising its ministries and the people receiving efficient services.”

At the Dewan Rakyat, Najib, said Malaysian companies should be encouraged to invest in Sabah and Sarawak which have strong potential for growth, noting the East Malaysian states were rich in natural resources.

The Pekan MP added that such a move would also be beneficial with Indonesia moving its administrative capital to Kalimantan.

Rahman said another suggestion was that the federal government should come up with a policy that makes it compulsory for manufacturers and businesses to streamline prices of goods nationwide.

“There is no need for one price in the peninsula and another for Sabah and Sarawak, which is higher.

“The usual excuse by manufacturers and businesses was that the higher prices in Sabah and Sarawak were due to delivery costs,” he said.

Rahman added that it was puzzling why delivery costs are not factored in for “distant” states like Kelantan and Perlis too, in the peninsula.

“This means that consumers in manufacturing states like Selangor, Johor and Penang are paying a bit more to subsidise the delivery costs to non-manufacturing states like Kelantan and Perlis.”

He said that streamlining prices nationwide will not cause significant issues as the consumers in Sabah and Sarawak and the quantity purchased are fewer compared with the peninsula.

“This is not only a fair economic policy but is also a moral obligation by the federal government,” Rahman said.