KUCHING, Sept 20: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Rafizi Ramli’s Malaysia Day message was not not about pointing fingers, but clearly stated the reality of what happened to Sarawak and Sabah.
This was said by PKR Sibuti chief Zulhaidah Suboh in response to Sibuti MP Lukanisman Awang Sauni’s ‘disappointment’ over Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Rafizi Ramli’s Malaysia Day message, who said that the MP’s disappointment should be channelled towards the fate of Sarawak’s rural students.
“The message delivered by Rafizi is not a political trap or a gimmick for GE15 (15th General Election) but gives the impression that the Federal government, Sabah government, and GPS government are incapable and cannot deal with the poverty issues faced by the people in Sabah and Sarawak, even though the government in Sarawak has never changed,” she said in a media statement issued today.
She added that as a Sarawak MP, Lukanisman should have commented on the issue of misappropriation of funds by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was found guilty of corruption involving a solar hybrid energy project for rural schools in Sarawak.
“The Sibuti MP should make a MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) report to insist that investigations and legal action should be taken against other individuals involved.
“It is a great blow when the schools that require the most assistance are located in the area under the supervision of the people’s elected representative himself,” she said.
She explained that there is a significant economic gap in Sarawak and Sabah in terms of the level of poverty, income distribution, and physical infrastructure compared to the Peninsula.
“Where is the equal partnership in Malaysia for these two States of Borneo? These two States that are rich in resources have the highest poverty rates. There are still many setbacks in terms of basic facilities that the people there have not been able to enjoy, and educational facilities are still of an unequal share for students in low-income families and in rural areas that have been severely affected during the pandemic.
“Various plans for construction, development, leading the hydrogen economy and digital economy policies were made by the Sarawak government to implement various transformations with the Federal government, but the issue of poverty is a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed.
“The reality is that there is no detailed transformation agenda to eliminate hardcore poverty in Sarawak, which remains the third poorest state in Malaysia.” — DayakDaily
