KUCHING, Dec 21: Within the next five years, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg hopes procedures on project implementation can be revamped to assist Sarawak to achieve the status of a developed state by 2030.
“We have to look at some of the procedures because some of them are quite archaic,” he said.
He said this during a reception ceremony for his first time entering the office after winning the recently concluded 12th Sarawak Election and being sworn in as chief minister at the lobby of Wisma Bapa Malaysia here today.
“What’s happening now is that a lot of Projek Rakyat are slow in being implemented, and I hope that civil servants will take note that if they need to revamp a particular procedure, they can bring it up.
“It’s not that we want to lose it, but we have to change it as certain ones are not necessary. Instead, we can follow more practical ones that can utilise technology,” he said.
Abang Johari, who is also Gedong assemblyman, said that he was surprised that Native Customary Rights (NCR) over land was not a dominant issue during the election.
“Instead, the dominant issue was on when bridges and other projects will finish,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the results of the 12th Sarawak Election, he said he did not expect Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to win 76 out of 82 seats.
“We were expecting to win only 68 to 72 seats. This means that the people understand the direction of our policies heading into 2030.
“The people also understand that our State must have political stability to continue development,” he said.
Abang Johari also said that Malaysia had seen three prime ministers during these last few years, which did not reflect the people’s expectations.
“It did not only affect our foreign direct investments, but it also affected our reputation.
“But thankfully, after GPS’ win, I noticed a lot of analysts mentioning that the signal is Malaysia wants a stable government,” said Abang Johari.
On the amended clauses of the Federal Constitution to reflect the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), the chief minister said it isn’t about wanting to separate from the Federation.
“It’s just that we want to fulfil what has been written in the Constitution,” he said.
He added that the road is clear for the State, and the people feel that Sarawak will continue to develop.
“With this stability, we can move forward,” he said. — DayakDaily
