Letter to the Editor
By Lating Minggang
As Sarawak aspires to become one of Malaysia’s developed regions by 2030 under the visionary leadership of Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, the move by the Sarawak government to build a new Kuching Airport will definitely be a game changer for Sarawak.
This new airport will be used to complement Sarawak’s economic development growth via its modern airport facilities. This indeed is a testament to the foresight of a visionary leader to develop Kuching, the capital city, to have the infrastructure facilities big enough to accommodate more passengers’ capacity to the State.
Thanks to the forward-thinking vision of the Premier to reimagine, rebrand, and reshape the new Kuching Airport, this new building is also going to mark the emergence of a new iconic building that will change the landscape of Kuching.
This new airport, due to its bigger capacities and better facilities, would then be able to help to catalyst the growth in other sectors, especially in the State’s tourism industry.
Furthermore, the growth in the tourism sector will also come with more multiplier effects as it will also become one of the enablers to help achieve economic transformation and uplift the socio-economic well-being of the community. This can be made possible through environmental sustainability, which is in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) objective, as well as the State development policies.
Leadership is the capacity to translate the vision to reality, and I think that was what the Premier did when he thought of building a new Kuching airport to complement the old one as a part of the State’s transformation journey to upscale the State to be on par, if not better, then it’s counterpart in West Malaysia.
It takes a visionary leader who is focused and committed to achieving his targeted goal to realise his vision, i.e. to upscale our infrastructure facilities to make the progress of the State sustainable throughout the transformation process.
Adequate infrastructure, including transportation, energy, and communication networks, is necessary for economic activity and the overall quality of life.
However, as we know, Sarawak is a vast State; thus, the journey to modernisation is undoubtedly going to be a challenging one.
The transformation journey of the State is a continuous process. Thus, to ensure that the transformation journey progresses, a safe and secure environment is needed to encourage investment, economic activity, and social development.
The speed of development in the State depends very much on a combination of many factors, and one of them is political stability and governance.
A stable political institution, good governance, and the rule of law are essential for attracting investment, ensuring social order, and preventing corruption.
Apart from that, a stable and growing economy is also fundamental for development growth.
Therefore, I would like to equate this to what Seth Berkley quotes regarding leadership: “Leadership is about vision and responsibility, not power”. — DayakDaily
Lating Minggang is the Walikota for Kapit District Council.
This is the personal opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of DayakDaily. Letters to the Editor may be lightly edited for clarity.
