KUCHING – Voter empowerment, the welfare of media practitioners and a special allocation for the Dayak community are among issues that should be addressed in the upcoming Budget 2023, according to some non-profit organisations.
Rise of Social Efforts chairman Ann Teo said Malaysian youth are becoming more uninterested in politics, and it hopes to see an allocation to address the issue.
“As a civil society working to empower voters, particularly Sarawakian youth, it is our wish to see the federal government take a more intentional and systematic approach in addressing political and voter literacy.
“As with all educational programmes, it needs to be consistent and sustained. Implementing agencies can include the Election Commission (EC) and the Education Department with inputs from society. There needs to be collaboration and an adequate budget to be allocated accordingly,” said Teo.
Currently, the EC has been in charge of such programmes at institutes of higher learning, she said.
“Nevertheless, what is the success rate and are they adequately resourced to do this? If we want our children and youth to grow up into smart and empowered citizens and voters, we must do something about it now,” she said.
Federation of Sarawak Journalists Association president Andy Jong said the government should consider the welfare of media practitioners, including those who have retired.
“There is not much welfare assistance provided by the government to media practitioners. I believe not just in Sarawak alone but the whole country.
“We would appreciate welfare assistance such as health packages, training, allowances, incentives, and special allocation for media equipment purchase such as cameras, mobile phones, video equipment and anything that will benefit the media fraternity.
“Considering media practitioners are frontliners, I think aiding media practitioners who suffer from chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart problems and others should be considered. To fork out on our own, to bear these expenses is not enough,” he said.
Jong said it would also be much appreciated if media practitioners who have retired at the age of 60 could be given a one-off retirement allowance.
“The media fraternity plays an important role in the development process of the country and an important role in fostering the spirit of unity, peace and harmony. Their services should be appreciated,” he said.
Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association president Gary Ningkan listed four issues to be addressed in the Budget 2023: a special allocation for the Dayak community similar to the one given to the Orang Asli community, an allocation for infrastructure development, a special allocation for young Malaysians to purchase their first home, and good facilities to aid the teaching of science subjects in rural Sarawak.
“We hope to see a special fund allocated to the Dayak community in Sarawak similar to the RM305 million allocation provided to the Orang Asli community, which includes social assistance programmes to upgrade the living standards, and the Orang Asli Integrated Village Development.
“The Dayak community in Sarawak needs greater assistance to ensure more young Dayaks can further their studies to help improve their livelihood. This special allocation should also look into assisting the community to obtain longhouse fire insurance as many longhouses are at risk of fire,” he said.
He added the development allocation should focus on greater connectivity to ensure Sarawak becomes a developed region.
“In fact, Sarawak should be getting a large sum of allocation for infrastructure development considering the size of our region,” he said.
Gary added that recent statistics show that there are almost 1,000 Dayak graduates below 40 years old.
According to him, around 60% of the community do not own any residential property as they find it too expensive and beyond their financial means.
“We hope there will be a special allocation for young Malaysians to purchase their first home – be it in terms of added subsidy, or through providing more affordable housing options for first-time home buyers.”
At the same time, he said Dayak students in the rural areas do not have good facilities to accommodate the teaching of science subjects at schools.
“We hope to see all schools in rural Sarawak to be equipped with the facilities needed to accommodate the teaching of science subjects. Most Dayak students in rural areas are not in science stream classes and one of the reasons is lack of proper facilities,” he said. – Borneo Post Online, February 15, 2023
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