MIRI – Many families among Sarawak’s interior tribes are still struggling to put food on the table, a native activist said, even as the state government prides itself on having earned the highest state revenue for 2022 and on its tallest flagpole project.
Harry Wing, a native of the remote Belaga district near the Bakun Dam, said politicians in Kuching are obsessed with these claims while the reality on the ground is a different picture.
“Those in rural areas don’t have enough cash to last even a few days. Our wooden huts are leaking.
“Families from the Penan and other Orang Ulu communities have no jobs and are also not receiving welfare aid from the state government.
“All these claims of having the highest this and that are not reflective of the real situation in rural Sarawak,” he told The Vibes.
Sarawak’s 2022 revenue of RM11.9 billion was its highest annual earnings ever, Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg announced recently – 17% higher than the projected revenue of RM10.2 billion initially.
Wing, however, questioned how much of the state revenue had brought real benefits to Sarawak’s poorest citizens.
“Look at the high costs of foodstuff, fuel, and construction materials, which are getting higher all the time.
“If the state government is really so rich, they should use a big portion of the revenue to subsidise these prices,” said Wing, whose work involves travelling to rural regions in central Sarawak.
The tallest flagpole project costing RM30 million, meanwhile, has divided opinion in Sarawak, with opposition politicians condemning it as a waste of funds.
However, state government officials and the federal tourism minister, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who is Bintulu MP and Dudong assemblyman, have defended the 99m flagpole, branding it as an emblem of pride and a tourist attraction for Sarawak.
Wing echoed the views of Sarawak Pakatan Harapan information chief Abun Sui, who had yesterday questioned why rural Sarawak is in such a terrible state, with broken bridges, horrendous roads, dire lack of electricity and absence of treated water supply despite high state revenue.
Sarawak is rich in natural resources, and Johari said that the state sales tax on its oil and gas products as well as other commodities had contributed 84% or RM5.6 billion of the total tax revenue collected.
Under the Poverty Line Income figures for 2019, Sarawak was listed as the country’s third poorest state after Sabah and Kelantan. – The Vibes, February 4, 2023
