COMMITMENT TO DELIVER: Taib holding up various versions of the Sarawak BN Manifesto which was printed in four languages namely English, Malay, Chinese and Iban. — Photo by Kong Jun Liung
State’s financial management given clean bill of health in last decade; excellent affirmation Moody’s, S&P
KUCHING: The state’s financial management has been given a clean bill of health by the Auditor-General of Malaysia for the past 10 consecutive years.
This has led to positive Investment Grade Credit rating by international rating agencies Moody’s which rated the state A3 with stable outlook and Standard and Poor which gave A- rating with stable outlook.
“No other state in the country has received these ratings,” said Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud when announcing the Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) Supplementary Manifesto 2013 at Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) headquarters in Jalan Bako.
The State BN pledged to attain good governance; transformation of the state economy; rural transformation; people’s prosperity; and sustainable environment through its supplementary manifesto.
Taib, who is also State BN chairman, elaborated that the main thrusts of the manifesto were continuation of the state’s good governance record; transformation of the state economy; ensuring rural areas were not left behind and marginalised in mainstream development; preserving people’s prosperity; and sustainable environment management.
“We want to tell the people, through this supplementary manifesto how BN will implement its manifesto to keep Sarawak abreast and making sure the differences in the implementation of national policies will yield the same results here.”
Earlier, he officiated at the presentation of the letter of authorisation to all BN candidates. Also present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, SPDP president Tan Sri William Mawan, PRS president Tan Sri James Masing, SUPP president Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui and other state BN political leaders.
Taib added that the state’s track record in good governance was crucial for Sarawak to maintain the confidence of international investors.
He added that the transformation of the economy will see the state moving towards the industrial sector through the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Economy (SCORE).
The chief minister also highlighted that the state also planned to upgrade its food processing and pharmaceutical industries from the yield of its vast palm oil sector.
In terms of physical development, the state is also planning to set up more skills development centres throughout the period up to 2030.
“That is part and parcel of our migration towards a higher income economy. We expect to achieve developed nation status, in as far as per capita income is concerned, earlier than 2020. By 2030, we expect per capita income nearing RM100,000.”
Taib added that the federal government had promised to allocate more fund for infrastructure development (road network, treated water and electricity supply) to reach 100 per cent penetration in the state.
Healthcare services have also vastly improved where the state has enjoyed better doctor-patients ratio at around 2,000 per doctor.
Extra efforts would be put into bridging the digital divide between rural and urban areas. Broadband penetration rate has reached 54.7 per cent while cellular penetration rate throughout the state has reached 85.6 per cent.
In light of global food supply and economic issues, the state BN government is also very committed to keep the prices of essential goods and services under control especially food and basic necessities.
Touching on forest management, Taib reminded that sustainable environment was an integral part of its development process.
“We are very proud that we have an abundance of green in our state. This shows that our forest management and agriculture activities are well controlled to meet certain environmental standard.”