MUKAH, June 30: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg warned Sarawakians that there have been efforts by outsiders to divide Sarawakians due to jealousy of how well Sarawak is being administered by its current state government.
He said despite many federal development projects being cancelled for Sarawak, the state government has been able to pull it off and continue most of them on its own with its own funds.
This, he said, may have made certain quarters from outside Sarawak irate, and they are trying to discredit the state government by instigating Sarawakians, disuniting them along the way.
“There are people who want to disunite us Bumiputera of Sarawak. I have been able to come up with ways for Sarawak to earn extra revenue by implementing the oil and gas sales tax according to the constitution, which could earn Sarawak an extra RM3 billion in addition to its RM7 billion revenue (per year), meaning we can earn up to RM10 billion.
“This revenue we use to build bridges and this Matu Waterfront, at the same time improve the standard of living of the rural people. So when we do all this, there are some people who got jealous. Even after they cancel many development projects we could still carry them out. That is why they are so adamant of getting Sarawak.
“We must never give up Sarawak to these outsiders. Only Sarawakians know how to develop Sarawak,” he said when officiating at the closing of the Matu Festival and opening of the Matu District Gawai Raya 2019 programme near here this morning (June 30).
Abang Johari said there has been a political leader who is in charge of the country’s finance, who claimed that Sarawak will go bankrupt in three years.
He said such remark was nonsense, especially when it was made by a person who is in charge of the country’s finances, adding that as an accountant, that person should have known that Sarawak also earns revenue.
“Sarawakians are not stupid. In fact we are smart. Despite a lot of development projects cancelled by them, we in Sarawak are still able to carry out our own development projects. We have the creativity of developing Sarawak on our own,” said Abang Johari.
He also urged Sarawakians to always be united, unlike those in the Peninsula who are divided by the various political faiths and parties, despite them all being Bumiputeras.
“We must put aside personal interest and be united. If we are not united, especially us Bumiputeras, we may lost Sarawak,” he said.
Abang Johari also pointed out that when the state government was under Barisan Nasional (BN) before, it always had to ask permission from Putrajaya before any development projects for Sarawak were carried out.
He said having decided to get out of BN was an apt choice at the time, and now Sarawak is free from the political whip of outsiders.
“Now we don’t have to rely on them anymore. Now Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is not under any ‘tauke’. I have been with BN together with (Head of State) Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud for about 40 years and we know the pace of development then and now,” he said.
Afterwards, Abang Johari announced an allocation of RM2 million to carry out a river cleaning project to alleviate flooding problems in Matu.
He advised Matu District Council to also carry out maintenance at least once every six months to clean the river to ensure the flooding issue there continues to be addressed, while at the same time enhance the cleanliness of the district.
“With the flooding alleviated, the people here would be able to carry out their economic activities in peace. In turn this would help improve the livelihood of the people of Matu,” said Abang Johari. — DayakDaily
