KUCHING, Oct 5: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar should also engage leaders from Peninsular Malaysia as well as the people of Sarawak over the proposed Bills to amend several critical legal provisions in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) to reinstate the rights of Sarawak and Sabah.
While Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) welcomes the pledge from Wan Junaidi to table the Bills on the constitutional amendments within 100 days of his key performance index (KPI) deadline, party president Lina Soo questioned why is he only engaging with Sarawak and Sabah State leaders and top government officials.
“Is he not seeing the very people who had failed the people of Sarawak and Sabah by allowing the two Borneo states to be stripped of their rights, compounded over 58 years?
“How could the cause of the problem be the solution?” she asked in a statement today.
On top of that, Soo also urged Wan Junaidi to engage with the Sarawak people, not just the Sarawak leaders whose five-year terms had expired, and may not be sitting where they are now after 12th State Election (PRN12).
“It is reassuring to learn that a comprehensive execution plan within a 100-day timeline is on schedule and we believe that all Parliamentarians will do the conscionable and right thing to vote in the affirmative to support Sarawak and Sabah rights.
“Wan Junaidi had acknowledged the hard truth that after having achieved independence for 58 years, more than 40 per cent of the people in Borneo are still living in rural areas, lacking basic facilities and infrastructure namely connectivity, communication, electricity, education and healthcare,” she added.
On the Sarawak people’s MA63 grievances over oil and gas, Soo supports the Sarawak Petroleum Contractors Association (SPECA)’s call for the Sarawak government to intervene in Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas)’ recent decision to award a contract to a non-Sarawakian company for the provision of blasting works off Sarawak’s coast recently.
She asserted that there are several Sarawak companies who are capable of doing the job, but the contract is farmed out to a Malayan company.
With Sarawak’s petroleum resources being the largest contributor to the national coffer, Soo wants the Sarawak government to take a more assertive and proactive stance in nurturing and advocating business and entrepreneurial opportunities for Sarawakians in the oil and gas industry.
“Sarawak has many talents who are experienced in the oil and gas industry and any business opportunity that does not require rocket science can be competently managed and delivered by our own entrepreneurs,” she asserted. — DayakDaily
