MIRI – The incumbent Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition must explain how the apparently “super rich” state can have as many as 73,800 extremely poor families living below the poverty line.
As the campaigning for the state polls draws to a close today, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Miri chief Bruce Chai and PSB women’s head Suzanne Lee have both gone on the offensive against GPS, expressing dismay and disbelief at the scale of extreme poverty in the state.
Chai told The Vibes that the figure of 73,800 families living below the poverty line was obtained by his party from a government body.
“That figure of 73,800 families living below the poverty line is a state-wide figure for urban and rural districts.
“That figure is for the number of households or families.
“If we take a family to have an average of five people, then we are talking about more than 350,000 individuals living below the poverty-line in Sarawak.
“In the city of Miri alone, there are at least 4,000-plus extremely poor families.
“GPS leaders throughout this state election campaign have been boasting about their achievements; that Sarawak under GPS is the richest state in Malaysia.
“They therefore owe the rakyat a good explanation on why they have failed to address the extreme poverty affecting so many Sarawakians,” he said.
Chai is PSB’s candidate for Pujut under the Miri parliamentary seat.
Lee, who is PSB’s candidate for Senadin, told reporters here she had found many urban poor living without water and electricity in the Tudan and Desarus resettlement schemes near Miri city.
“We PSB want to change the state government.
“We want to bring down GPS.
“GPS now and the state Barisan Nasional (BN) of recent times have 60 years of wealth and resources in their hands.
“Despite this, they have not ensured a fair distribution of wealth.
“There is so much imbalance, so many still living in hardship, not just in rural regions but in cities, too, like in Miri.
“This is a result of poor administration by GPS/BN,” she said.
She called on voters to opt for a total change of the state government on polling day tomorrow.
PSB is contesting in 70 of the 82 state constituencies in Sarawak. – The Vibes, December 17, 2021
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