PONTIAN, Feb 15 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that Johor’s request for the return of the state’s 25 per cent income tax revenue was not an issue and can be negotiated amicably.

Anwar said Johor currently was the highest recipient for the federal government’s expenditure that is used for various needs of its people.

“The federal allocation is used for the construction and upgrading of highways, ports and also the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). 

“So, the issue involving the return of taxes can be negotiated and resolved in an amicable way,” he said in his address at the at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Hospital Pontian’s additional annex at Dataran Pontian here today.

Present during the event was Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

They were also accompanied by Pontian MP and deputy works minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan and senior government officials.

Anwar said it doesn’t matter if the allocation is from the federal government or state government.

“It is all technical and what is important is that the benefits reaches the people without leakages,” he said.

Anwar explained that people-centric projects needed to be processed through tenders properly and implemented efficiently so that the benefit could be enjoyed by all.

Earlier, Onn Hafiz in his speech requested the Federal government to consider its request for the return of taxes.

The issue was previously voiced by Johor Regent, Tunku Mahkota Ismail on July last year.

He said the 25 per cent tax return was important for Johor, where the state can speed up the implementation of critical projects if a portion of its tax revenue is returned.

Tunku Mohkota Ismail voiced this following several recent delays including the issue of the opening of Pasir Gudang Hospital, disruption of the autogate system at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar (KSAB), as well as delays in the state’s flood mitigation project.

 Malay Mail – Malaysia