By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, July 22: Keep Sarawak away from politics which lead to division among the people, reminds Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said no matter how well a government may plan, large allocations do not guarantee success if the political climate does not permit.
“Political unrest and power struggles between political parties will cause unhealthy instability to economic development. Foreign money will flow out and investors will certainly not invest in countries or states that are volatile in terms of the political climate.
“Therefore, in conjunction with this meaningful day, let us, the people of Sarawak, unite and strengthen unity and harmony and let us keep the State away from politics that lead to division,” said Abang Johari during the Sarawak Day celebration themed “Sarawak Gemilang untuk Semua” (Sarawak achieving excellence for all) held at Sarawak Legislative Assembly Complex here earlier this evening.
Meanwhile, on the Covid-19 pandemic which is plaguing Sarawak and the whole world, Abang Johari said Sarawak often made different decisions from its Peninsular Malaysia counterpart.
“During the past one year or so of the pandemic, we have often made decisions that are more suited to the conditions and situation in Sarawak.
“We respect the federal government and decisions made at the federal level but not every decision made in Putrajaya is suitable or practical for implementation in Sarawak.”
He noted Sarawak’s land mass is almost as large as that of Peninsular Malaysia and more often than not, with resource and infrastructure constraints, it is quite difficult for Sarawakian authorities to implement decisions that were made at the federal level.
Citing the example of allowing people to vaccinate first and register later through the MySejahtera app, he said that is a Covid-19 prevention measures which only Sarawak is insisting upon because residents of longhouses and villages have difficulties in accessing and registering via MySejahtera.
He praised Sarawakians for their highly cooperative manner in getting themselves inoculated where so far more than 70 per cent of Sarawakians have received their first vaccine dose and more than 40 per cent had completed two doses of the vaccine.
Judging on Sarawakians’ spirit in fighting Covid-19, he was confident Sarawak will achieve its vision of becoming a high-income economy by 2030, a point he emphasised when officiating at the launch of Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 in conjunction with Sarawak Day this morning. — DayakDaily
