KUCHING – The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government has chose to support the unity government proposed by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong because it is vital to have a strong and stable national administration, said Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
The premier said that with the appointment of a deputy prime minister and five ministries led by Sarawakians in the unity cabinet, the state has been given great responsibility to ensure the smooth running of the country’s administration for another five years.
“For the GPS government, what is more important than anything else is the interests and rights of Sarawak as enshrined in the federal constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),” Abang Johari said in his Christmas message.
The GPS chairman said an independent political platform through the formation of the coalition was the best step to ensure Sarawak’s voice would not be drowned in the national scene.
He said the people of Sarawak themselves are the sincerest in the struggle to uphold justice for the state.
Abang Johari also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the people of Sarawak for placing their trust in GPS to continue bearing the responsibility of safeguarding the state’s interests –having given strong support to the coalition’s candidates to represent Sarawak in Parliament in the 15th general election.
Abang Johari said as a government, GPS has laid down everything possible within its power to create a better future for Sarawak and its peop le.
“We are upgrading our infrastructure in a big way, both road and Internet, developing our human resources and talent as these are prerequisites to bring our economy to the next level in line with the demand of the world’s current megatrends.
“We are not only trying to develop infrastructure within the state, but also air connectivity with other regions to facilitate air travel for tourists and business travellers.
“Therefore, we are setting up the state’s boutique airline for this purpose where profit is not the primary motivation,” he said.
Abang Johari pointed out the state government is also tapping the potential of the state’s resources to embark on a journey together with the rest of the world towards a greener and decarbonised earth in order to reverse climate change.
He said Sarawak has big prospects in hydrogen production as the clean fuel of the future, carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), carbon trading, and green biofuel from microalgae.
He added that the GPS government has laid a clear roadmap towards economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic through the Post-Covid-19 Strategic Development 2030 (PCDS 2030) and realigned policies towards a greener and decarbonised earth.
“We have high hopes that we can continue to increase our state’s revenue which now stands at about RM11 billion, the biggest so far in Sarawak’s history.
“We are setting up our very own sovereign fund to save and invest for the future generations of Sarawakians. The law for setting up the fund has just been passed in the Dewan Undangan Negeri, which should be up and running by 2024 with an initial capital injection of RM8 billion.
“Not only will this fund provide for Sarawakians during the rainy days but it may allow us to provide free education to Sarawakians in the future,” he said.– Borneo Post Online, December 25, 2022
