THERE was nothing lucky about Sarawak's economic achievements - its ability to take over MasWings, Bintulu port, desire to be a majority shareholder of Affin Bank and its takeover of the distribution of natural gas in the state - Premier Abang Johari Openg said.
He told guests at a “melanggar meja” (literally meaning joining the table) gathering in the small coastal district of Subis near Miri that the successes were all due to sheer hard work, and in reclaiming Sarawak's rights as agreed in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“Sarawak's economic transformation does not depend on luck. It required hard work based on meticulous and forward-looking planning like the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030,” he said in a clear response to recent news articles that painted ill of Sarawak and its leaders.
One was an opinion piece by a writer writing under the pseudonym, TheRealNehruism, and asking “When Will Abang Jo’s Luck Run Out?”
The other was a reader's letter in Suara TV online portal who expressed fear that Malaysia faced huge losses if Sarawak had a monopoly of all the natural gas in the state.
“If you're lazy, don't expect anything to come your way,” the premier said.
On Sarawak's success in reclaiming its rights over oil and gas, Abang Johari said the power obtained by the state government from the federal government was also not dependent on luck.
He said this was based on certain provisions in the federal constitution, the MA63, and the IGC (Inter-Governmental Committee) Reports, which formed the basis for the establishment of Malaysia.
The state government's good relationship with the federal government merely made it easy to regain those eroded rights, he said.
The eroded rights must be reinstated and returned to Sarawak, he said, adding the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government he heads will continue negotiations with Putrajaya to restore all of Sarawak's eroded rights.
“We do not grab anything that is not rightfully ours. I've said that often.
“If it's (within) our rights, then it's ours. If it's not ours, we will not infringe on them,” he said.
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) information chief and Muara Tung assemblyman Idris Buang yesterday dismissed the news articles as written by writers “who are not congruos to and in fact jealous” of Sarawak's success.
“They are in essence disseminators of falsehood and seemingly act like harbingers of doom of sorts,” Idris added.
In apparent reference to the article 'When Will Abang Jo’s Luck Run Out', he said it was “very obvious” that the writer was all out to cause insecurity and unease in the minds of people, especially ones who are naive about politics. - The Vibes, May 30, 2024
