By Karen Bong
MIRI, Jan 30: No one could stop Sarawak from becoming a strong and prosperous state unless Sarawakians were not united.
Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) president, who is also Minister of Local Government and Housing, Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian stressed that no divisive and oppressive forces could stop Sarawakians from heading towards that direction.
“Sarawakians need to be united. It is time for all Sarawakians, no matter where you are, to do something for Sarawak.
“If you do nothing for Sarawak, there will be no Sarawak for Sarawakians, instead it will be Sarawak for Malaysians like how we are suffering now,” he said, addressing the SUPP Miri-Sibuti Chinese New Year celebration at a hotel here last night (Jan 29).
Dr Sim reminded that Sarawak was very blessed to have Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, who has a lot of experience, to lead Sarawak on the road towards becoming a strong and prosperous state.
“He not only continues with Tok Nan’s legacy but also fights hard for Sarawak’s rights, rolling out people-centric policies as well as driving Sarawak progress through digital economy.
“A lot of people did not realise that in 2018, the Sarawak annual budget was only RM5 to RM6 billion, but now we are at RM10 billion. This the beginning of our strong and prosperous journey,” he emphasised.
However, Dr Sim pointed out that things took a better change and it is different for Sarawak now as Abang Johari took the bold step and decided that Sarawak should take care of themselves.
As Sarawak builds its prosperity, he said the state government also shared its wealth by implementing various initiatives to benefit the people including RM1,000 for newborn babies, RM450 for new mothers, RM5 free water for households, incentives for new electricity connection, two-month bonuses for civil servants and many more.
“This is possible because we are prosperous. In the past, there was no two-month bonus. This is what we call heading towards the direction of becoming a strong and prosperous state,” he added.
Apart from sharing the state’s wealth with the people, he shared that Abang Johari also got Sarawak to go global on its own by establishing international presence such as in Singapore, Kalimantan, Indonesia and Brunei.
“We will go global on our own so that we will not have to be worried and depend on others to help us internationally.
“This year, we will be establishing our coast guards and this is a significant step as Sarawak need to secure and protect our coastline. These are the roadmap towards building a strong and prosperous Sarawak,” he added. —DayakDaily
