Sarawak political analyst Jeniri Amir has trained his gun on Works Minister Baru Bian and Sarawak Pakatan Harapan for not speaking up against the freezing of toll hike in all highways in Peninsular Malaysia in 2019.

The “deafening silence” of Sarawak Harapan over the freezing of toll hike as well as the abolition of toll highways, also in Peninsular, was indeed worrying, Jeniri said.

“Who is going to compensate? Until when can we do this? Sabahans and Sarawakians who are not using these highways also have to pay via taxes?” he was quoted by the Borneo Post as saying in a statement.

Baru, who is also Selangau MP, must stand up to fight for more funds to be channeled to Sabah and Sarawak, the analyst said.

“One of Baru’s New Year resolutions is to close the gap between Peninsular and Sabah and Sarawak in terms of infrastructure development.

“Fight for more funds for schools, roads, etc, otherwise mere talk, tin kosong (empty can). Sarawakians want to see him deliver and stop politicising issues,” he said.

“People know Harapan has money. Harapan or Baru should not find all sorts of excuses when it comes to implementing development for Sabah and Sarawak.

"That’s how they have been treating Sabah and Sarawak. In the long run, it’s not good for the country,” said Jeniri, who is also an associate professor at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.