By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Aug 16: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg expressed concern that the ongoing political squabbles at the federal level could affect efforts to halt the spread of Covid-19 in the country.
He said when the State and the nation are facing a pandemic-induced health crisis, nothing is more important than having the State and nation governed by stable governments.
“For Sarawak’s part, Alhamdulillah we have a relatively strong government under the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) administration.
“However, at the federal level, the situation is quite worrying due to power struggles and disputes between political parties.
“I strongly agree with the suggestion that this is not the time for politicking but it is the time to mobilise time and energy to address the Covid-19 threat,” he said at the launch of the State-level National Month and Fly the Jalur Gemilang programme which was livestreamed via the Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas) Facebook page today.
It is speculated that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will tender his resignation during an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today.
Based on media reports yesterday, Muhyiddin had revealed his intention to step down from his post during a high level meeting with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) members yesterday morning (Aug 15).
Touching on the pandemic situation in the State, Abang Johari gave assurance that the GPS government has never given up on curbing the spread of Covid-19 despite current fluctuations in the number of daily infections.
He said the State government’s main policy to combat Covid-19 was to expedite the provision of vaccines to all eligible citizens.
“Alhamdulillah, Sarawak has almost achieved herd immunity ahead of other States by administering vaccines from the city to the interior areas far near the border, such as in Long Singut, Ulu Baleh.
“We at the State government level always take seriously the need for hard work to be mobilised from time to time until the situation in the State returns to normal in the future,” he added.
Abang Johari also said that the people of Sarawak are very fortunate to have received assistance from both the State and federal governments to ease their burden amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the federal government had introduced assistance under Prihatin Nasional, the State government had rolled out seven packages of Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance (BKSS) amounting to RM5.3 billion.
“Additionally, the State government has formulated an economic recovery strategy through the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategic Plan 2030 (PCDS 2030) which targets growing the size of Sarawak’s economy from RM136 billion in 2019 to RM282 billion in 2030.
“I am proud to say that we (Sarawak) are the first State to come up with the post-Covid economic recovery plan,” he emphasised. — DayakDaily
