People-centric plans benefiting all Sarawakians

SARAWAK has made progress by leaps and bounds. We want to continue and to accelerate this progress. We want to achieve a high income and developed state by 2020. We want all Sarawakians to enjoy the success of a high income and developed state. No Sarawakians should be left out in this matter. The joy and fruits of success are meant for all of us irrespective of locality, race and religion.

Therefore, we must ensure that whatever we do must ultimately benefit the people. The people are the centre of everything in whatever we plan and deliver. The people’s interest is paramount in discharging our responsibilities.

To do that successfully, we must lend our ears to the people. We must listen with an open heart and mind to understand their needs correctly and sincerely. We are here to serve the rakyat. Only then we can deliver the right goods and services to them efficiently and effectively.

Catch-up plan for Sarawak

Our economy is the third largest in the country. We contributed about 10 per cent to the national economy. We have good credit ratings. With these ratings, Sarawak’s reputation as an attractive investment destination has gained confidence from investors.

With these achievements, one cannot deny the progress that we have made in the socioeconomic development of the state over the years. However, being the biggest state, we are facing more challenges and are still lagging behind in terms of infrastructure development especially in the rural areas. Hence, we should not be complacent as more work needs to be done. We aspire to achieve a higher level of progress, which is even better or at least at par with what had been achieved by our fellow Malaysians in Peninsular Malaysia.

I do understand you all and I hear you when you said: “what is next after 51 years after the birth of Malaysia”. To address this, I am pleased to inform that we have formulated a catch-up plan or also known as the Sarawak Socio-Economic Transformation Programme (SETP) beginning the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), 2016 to 2020.

We don’t want Sarawak to be left behind in the nation’s effort to become a high income and developed country by 2020. Let us work together to ensure a progressive and prosperous Sarawak in this journey of us towards Vision 2020 and beyond.

Briefly, let me inform you that SETP is a long-term development plan which will be implemented in stages. The first phase would be implemented beginning the 11MP, which is critical to us because it is the last Five-Year Development Plan before we achieve a high income and developed state status by 2020.

With the limited time available, we need to be bold and creative on how to accelerate the pace of development. We must ensure that programmes and projects are implemented and completed quickly to benefit the rakyat. I would like to reiterate here that we need to be focus and not to be easily distracted by petty matters. In this respect, collaboration and teamwork is required from all stakeholders including the Honourable Members of the opposition whom I believe also love to see a peaceful and progressive Sarawak.

To accelerate economic growth and development, we need to implement more programmes and projects compared to the previous Five-Year Development Plans. This will require greater funding especially from the federal government. For this reason, we will work closely with the federal government to ensure more development funding for the state.

I will personally raise this matter with YAB Prime Minister and I believe him, being a leader who knows the level of development in the state, will consider our request for funding favourably.

Accelerate SCORE Development Plan

The development of SCORE is progressing well both in terms of infrastructure development and private sector investment. This is a clear manifestation of our ability to deliver projects under the SCORE Development Plan and to attract investors to the state.

In meeting the needs of investors, the government will expedite the provision of basic infrastructure in the SCORE areas. Efforts will be made to further develop the Samalaju Industrial Park including the development of a service centre and a new township.

We have been successful in attracting trigger industries such as aluminium smelting, ferro-alloy and polycrystalline silicon. These trigger industries are important as they are supplying raw materials or semi-finished products that meet the demand of the global supply chain. This has also positioned Sarawak strategically in the global investment map.

With the establishment of these trigger industries we are now in a better position to attract more downstream industries to Sarawak. In years to come we are expecting the development of industrial clusters. Therefore, our next step is to attract the downstream industries to invest in SCORE, especially at Samalaju Industrial Park.

The success in attracting these downstream industries is important as they are involved in higher value-added activities and are able to generate good paying jobs for our people.

It must be fully understood that SCORE is a Regional Development Plan. It is not just the development of heavy industries in the Samalaju Industrial Park or the agro-based industries in Tanjung Manis Halal Hub. In fact, the SCORE Plan includes the development of the hinterland such as Murum, Tunoh, Baram and Baleh. In this context, we have completed the road to Murum HEP that provides good connectivity to these areas.

We have also successfully resettled the local communities affected by the Murum HEP. The living conditions of these resettled communities are far better than before. Now, they are enjoying better housing facilities, having access to electricity and water supplies, health and education.

Many development programmes are already in place to ensure better livelihoods and to increase the income of the affected communities. In other words, SCORE is bringing progress even to the remote areas and rural communities.

Sustainable development

Allow me to touch on the subject of environment in respect to the Samalaju Industrial Park. I would like to inform that the government does not compromise on environmental issues. In fact, we are taking several measures to ensure that the environmental issues such as air pollution, disposal and management of scheduled wastes and water pollution are under controlled through the following actions:

1.            Mandatory requirement  for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) during site preparation and construction of industries at SIP, in accordance with the Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance 1993 and Environmental Quality Act 1974;

2.            Industries are required to install environmental control systems such as bag filter, scrubber and fume treatment system to ensure that air emission from industries meet the standards of the EIA approval;

3.            To install Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (CEMS) to monitor air quality;

4.            Stack emission monitoring of air, sound and water (river and marine) by industries every three months;

5.            Third Party Audit, by registered Environmental Auditors, will be carried out every 4 months for industries to assess the status of compliance to EIA Approval conditions;

6.            To install one Continuous Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAQMS) at SIP to monitor air quality on hourly basis as an indicator for air quality at SIP; and

7.            An Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS) will be built at Maskat, Bintulu to receive and manage both municipal and scheduled wastes from industries at SIP and surrounding areas.

Business-friendly government

We acknowledge the contributions of the private sector in the development of the state. As a business-friendly government, we will put our best endeavour to encourage the private sector to invest and expand their businesses in all sectors of our economy. In doing so, the government will continue to engage with the private sector to understand their needs and provide them with the necessary assistances to ensure the success of their investments.

In this symbiotic relationship, their success is also our success. In order to have a strong economy, we need to have a strong private sector as our engine of growth.  Lest we forget, their investments are critical in creating more new business and job opportunities for the rakyat.

The private sector investment will not be confined to the major towns and urban centres in the state. In fact, the private sector is very much encouraged to expand their businesses to smaller towns and rural areas to spread economic development throughout the state.

In cognisance of the vast economic potentials that can be tapped by the private sector in the smaller towns, the government will continue to provide the necessary enablers including basic infrastructure such as road, water and electricity to ensure the viability of their investments. We will make sure that the front-line agencies at the Divisional and District levels will help to facilitate more private sector investment.

Support for SMEs

In developing our economy, focus is also given to the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) including the Bumiputera entrepreneurs. Being the backbone of our economy, the future development of SMEs is important for the state. They are not only the providers of supporting services to bigger companies but they also create many job opportunities for the rakyat.

In this regards, the government will support the development of SMEs so that they can grow their businesses. For the bigger companies, we would like to see them compete internationally to capture bigger market for their products. By doing so, more local businessmen and entrepreneurs will be created for a vibrant economy.

Rural Transformation Programme

We face many challenges in developing a big state like Sarawak. Almost half of our population are residing in settlements scattered in the rural areas. By and large, the rural areas are still lagging behind in various fields of development especially in basic infrastructure, access to education and health facilities. However, the rural sector in Sarawak has huge potential that has yet to be tapped to spur the economic growth of the state. This is the last frontier of development that the state is focusing on in our development agenda.

No doubt we have provided the basic infrastructure such as rural roads, water and electricity supply to the rural areas, but we have yet to achieve the full coverage. The rakyat in the rural areas deserve to be provided with the basic infrastructure and utilities that are available in the urban areas.

The provision of the basic infrastructure is critical in addressing issues such as income disparity, poverty and out migration from rural to urban areas. Therefore, I would like to inform this august House that the government is focusing on Rural Transformation as one of the key thrusts of our development agenda.

Our Rural Transformation Programme is holistic in nature encompassing various components such basic infrastructure, socioeconomic programmes, private investment, development of new towns and service centres and the development of human capital. The private sector recognises the economic potentials in the rural areas. However, attracting private investment to the rural areas is a daunting task unless the basic infrastructure, especially roads, is put in place to provide accessibility and connectivity to these areas.

For this reason, the government has formulated a Master Plan that will guide and enable us to accelerate the development of the rural sector systemically. The Plan amongst others has clearly spelt out the huge investment opportunities available, the infrastructure requirements as the enablers and massive funding required in realising the potentials.

I have announced the creation of eight new Districts and one new Division, which is part of enhancing the development in the rural areas. From this perspective, the state government will work closely with the federal government to seek greater funding as well as engaging with the private sector to unlock the investment potentials.

I would like to inform this august House that the Rural Transformation Programme will involve not only the development of coastal areas but will cover the interior areas such as Bakun, Murum, Bengoh, Baram, Tunoh and Baleh. The development of HEPs and reservoirs in these areas is carried out systematically and acts as a catalyst to stimulate the development in these areas. We are expecting more private investment to come to these areas simply because we have constructed the roads linking some of these areas to major towns.

The affected communities will be organised in bigger economic units and resettled in new and modern townships including the proposed Bandar Baru Telang Usan. This will create the critical mass needed for larger economic activities to take place.

Here, I would like to stress that the rakyat’s interests are always foremost and taken into consideration in all our initiatives to ensure that the livelihoods of our people are far better than what they have now.

Therefore, I would like to urge the rakyat in the affected areas to give the full support to the government to ensure the success of these projects and not to listen to some unscrupulous NGOs with ulterior motives.

Accelerating Rural Basic Infrastructure

Now let me share with you why Rural Basic Infrastructure is so dear to the hearts of the rural folk. A simple example is the provision of electricity supply from the grid will enable the households in the rural areas to use refrigerators and their children to use computers not just for their studies but also to access job opportunities that are now mostly being offered online.

The provision of treated water supply is also important to improve the health of the rural population by reducing the possibility of being affected by water borne diseases. With road connectivity, the rakyat in the rural areas will have easier access to schools, clinics and other government services available in the nearest towns.

I am sure the Honourable Members of this august House will agree with me that it is disheartening to hear cases where our rural communities still rely on rivers to send their children to school and seek treatment from the nearest clinic, which can be many miles away. This is not to mention the poor conditions of the schools and lacking of facilities in some of our rural clinics. I hope Honourable Members of this august House will work with us in our efforts to seek more funding from the federal government in order to transform our rural areas beginning with the 11MP.

Poverty eradication

It is without doubt that we have been quite successful in eradicating poverty in the state. However, we should not be complacent as there are still pockets of poverty in the rural areas and rising level of urban poverty. For this reason, we will continue to address poverty in the state and it will remain as one of the top agenda in our development thrusts.

In respect to rural poverty, the operating environment is more challenging. Therefore, we need to be more creative and innovative to marshal all our resources to ensure that all the programmes and projects implemented will benefit the targeted poor.

The mechanism also needs to be streamlined and further strengthened with the support and cooperation of all parties concerned, namely government agencies, NGOs and community leaders. We want the rural poor to be out from the vicious cycle of poverty in line with the state’s aspirations to become a high income economy by the year 2020.

The rising level of poverty in the urban areas is also a major concern to the government. We acknowledge that if this issue is not immediately and properly addressed, it will lead to more social problems and squatters in the state. For this reason, the government is embarking on more programmes and projects to tackle this issue.

For the productive urban poor, special programmes are designed to enable them to gain employment. In this respect, greater collaboration between the government, private sector and the NGOs is required. The collaboration is also an important yardstick in our efforts to address urban poverty.

Negotiation on Petroleum Royalty

We know that Petroleum Royalty is an issue that is close to the hearts of every Sarawakian including all Honourable Members of this august House. A number of Ahli-Ahli Yang Berhormat have also raised the matter in this sitting.

We read many comments posted by people from all walks of life on this subject in the social media. We cannot stop people from raising their views on the matter. But I would like to say here that this issue will continue to be part of our continuous negotiation and discussion with the federal government as we want the state and the country to be developed.

As a follow up to the resolution passed by this august House in its sitting in May this year, I am pleased to inform that we have started pursuing the issue on the Petroleum Royalty with the federal government. In this respect, the state government is negotiating with Petronas to increase the Petroleum Royalty to 20 per cent and the negotiation is progressing well.

The negotiation is also a manifestation of the federal government and Petronas’ commitment towards achieving the Petroleum Royalty resolution made by the state government. I would like to emphasise that this resolution is a BN government resolution and not the opposition’s resolution.

I am pleased to inform this august House, that the state government and Petronas have also agreed to work on five key areas of cooperation to achieve the objective of the resolution and to enable Sarawak’s participation in the oil and gas industry, namely:

1.  Natural gas supply for both power and non-power sectors;

2.  Human resource, education and technical training;

3.  Contracts and Business Opportunities;

4.  Equity and Royalty; and

5.  Corporate Social Responsibility.

We believe that these five key areas of cooperation will create the optimal impact to accelerate the State’s socioeconomic development and improving the livelihoods of the people of Sarawak.

I am pleased to inform that Petronas as its initial response to the state request has agreed on the following:

1.            To allocate 10 per cent equity in the MLNG Plant Train 9. This is in addition to the current 5 per cent equity in LNG1 and 10 per cent each in LNG2 and LNG3;

2.            To allocate 280 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of natural gas to power and non-power sectors.

3.            To allocate a baseline value of RM2.1 billion worth of contracts to Sarawak companies which will be increased each year. Petronas will set up offices in Kuching, Bintulu and Miri on licensing and contractual matters, to organise licensing and tendering clinics and to allow contractors registered with the state’s Unit Pendaftaran Kontraktor (UPK) to participate in tenders subject to Petronas’ requirements;

4.            To spend RM420 million over a period of five years for capital and operating expenditures on education and technical training; and

5.            To spend a minimum of RM50 million over five years as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on community projects, emergency aid and environmental programmes. The state government and Petronas will work together to identify suitable CSR projects.

The federal government has indicated that they are seriously considering the royalty request by the state government by increasing the cash compensation in lieu of oil and gas rights. I wish to inform this august House that a Sovereign Fund will not be created but funding will be done through our development plan.

Integrated Resource Utilisation and Environment Management

Our state is blessed with abundant natural resources but we must make sure that our environment is well-managed and protected to remain clean and pristine. We must develop these resources in a sustainable manner and therefore our development policy will always strike a balance between development needs and environmental protection. We don’t compromise on any development undertakings that can jeopardise the quality of our environment.

Instead, the development must be carried out in accordance with the approved laws, rules and regulations. This is important to ensure that the proposed development will not damage the environment that is detrimental to the livelihoods of the people and the loss of revenues on the part of the government.

Battling illegal activities

As Honourable Members of this august House are fully aware, I have instructed all our enforcement agencies to beef up their operations against all forms of illegal activities in the state.

Lately, we see rampant and rising cases of activities that are flouting the law. We must stop these activities before they go out of control. The government will not hesitate to take stern action against the culprits including personnel of enforcement agencies if they are found to be involved in such illegal activities. The enforcement personnel are required to have a high level of integrity because it is the pillar for an efficient and effective enforcement. We have also invited Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to assist us in this matter.

Strengthening forest enforcement

Let me make it very clear in no uncertain terms that we will tackle illegal logging with all commitment and dedication as I treat it as a menace to society, state and country. Corruption is a menace.

I would like to put on record that our commitment to tackle issue of illegal logging in the state have been carried out during the time of my predecessor including the Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment. It is erroneous for members of the opposition to accuse the Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment then and now for sleeping on his job.

Do not be mistaken and I mean what I said earlier. I am not interested in talking in platitudes. It is serious and it has been done and will continue to be done. The government will be persistent and persevere until these activities are put to a stop.

Illegal logging activities have jeopardised our efforts to promote sustainable forest management practices – not only does it incur losses in revenue to the state but more seriously it causes long-lasting environmental degradation. So, don’t mess with me and I mean business.

I will bring all the culprits and their abettors to face the wrath of law at our disposal with the commitment of MACC, Forest Department and other government agencies. For that matter I want all Ahli Yang Berhormat to report to the relevant agencies on any illegal logging activities.

Do not make an excuse that fear for their lives discourages them from lodging a police report. As any report in any form (written, phone call, SMS, email or any social media) to Forest Department shall be promptly responded to. Do not just be a champion in this august House only. Your talk in this august House must be translated into action outside this august House. Jangan cakap besar ajak.

Corporate Integrity Pledge

Two days ago (Nov 17), six state government agencies and 15 timber licensees and logging companies signed a Corporate Integrity Pledge.

I have directed them (timber companies) to examine their contractors, sub-contractors and their Camp Managers:

1.            To ensure that they are not involved in any illegal activities;

2.            to comply with the timber licence conditions; and

3.            to be mindful of their operations on the ground.

Ultimately, they are the one who are responsible for any activities that happen within their concession areas and appropriate action will be taken.

I have already warned all the enforcement agencies of the state to be alert, sensitive and proactive and not to behave like:

Ada mata – buta,

Ada telinga – bengal,

Ada mulut – bisu,

Ada otak – sik dipake.

This year alone, we conducted three Integrity Seminars for Enforcement Officers in collaboration with MACC:

1.            Sept 24-25 in Kuching

2.            Oct 9-10 in Sibu, and

3.            Oct 20-21 in Miri.

Altogether 1,704 participants from various state and federal enforcement agencies attended the seminars.

The state government through the Forest Department has intensified and enhanced its actions towards mitigating these illegal logging and smuggling activities through the following initiatives and actions:

1.            Intelligence gathering of information, public complaints and also an integrated, comprehensive and consistent patrolling approach;

2.            conducting surprise checks at log-ponds, timber  mills, roads, export points and waterways;

3.            airborne surveillance using helicopters;

4.            maximising the usage of the latest advanced technology such as Compact Airborne Tactical System (CATs) and  Hyperspectral;

5.            use of Logs Tracking System (LOTS) for monitoring the movement of legal logs and timber;

6.            conducted an inter agencies enforcement operations with various government agencies such as the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Marine Police, General Operations Force of the Royal Malaysian Police (GOF), MACC and other relevant government agencies;

7.            regular auditing and checks on timber mills, log ponds and export points;

8.            impeachment and imposing heavy penalties on those found guilty of the various offences; and

9.            appointment of Honorary Wild Life Rangers among the local community to assist in alerting the government on any illegal logging activities and encroachment into Permanent Forest Estates (PFE) and Totally Protected Areas (TPA).

An Inter-Agency Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Performance of Forestry Functions in Sarawak has been developed for the purpose of improving the implementation of the operational procedures among the various agencies. This procedure involved the process of streamlining the functions of the four forestry agencies which include the Forest Department Sarawak, Sarawak Forestry Corporation, STIDC and Harwood Timber Sdn Bhd. This procedure is to ensure that there is no overlapping of functions among the four agencies.

Combating illegal logging

The state through the Forest Department Sarawak has also conducted a Lab on Combating Illegal Logging and Smuggling of Logs on Oct 30-31, 2014. Sixteen government enforcement agencies were involved in assessing the Log Verification System that is currently being used in Sarawak.

The state government is also in the process of reviewing and imposing heavier penalties for offences on illegal logging and smuggling of timber. Corporal punishment such as caning for the offenders is also being considered to be implemented.

In order to ensure the effectiveness of enforcement, the state government has approved an allocation of RM5.07 million to acquire 29 land cruisers, four caravans, 50 sets of firearms, uniforms and helicopter rental for the purpose of aerial surveillance.

For the year 2015, the state government has also approved an additional RM5.5 million in addition to the existing annual allocation for the purpose of enforcement.

All of this reflects our commitment in strengthening the legal and institutional framework for effective execution of enforcement activities. And I hope members of the opposition will stop to continue using the issue of illegal logging for their political mileage.

Electricity tariff

I am pleased to inform that over the past several years, Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) has signed 12 Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with bulk customers for a combined load of 2,570 MW.

On Nov 14, SEB signed another PPA with Comtec Solar International (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd with a total investment of RM1.2 billion and to create around 1,300 job opportunities at its solar wafer manufacturing plant in Sama Jaya Free Industrial Zone, Kuching.

The commissioning of the Murum hydroelectric plant is well underway and will provide clean, renewable and affordable power to Sarawak for many decades to come. I am pleased to inform that in October 2014, SEB had signed a major contract for the construction of the Balingian Coal Fired Power Plant.

SEB is also making steady progress on the construction of the 500kV State Transmission backbone and is investing more than RM400 million in new transmission and distribution infrastructure to cope with the rapid growth of Miri.

In relation to tariffs, there are very few places in the world which have been able to maintain the same electricity tariffs since 1992. We are proud that electricity tariffs in Sarawak are already the lowest in Malaysia and among the lowest in the Asean region. Having now confirmed that the state government has the capacity to implement the SCORE Development Plan, the time is right for the people of Sarawak to receive an immediate return on their investment.

Mindful of the burden arising from the higher cost of living, I hereby announce that the state government will revise downwards electricity tariffs for all domestic customers in the state effective from Jan 1, 2015.

For this purpose the state government has carefully designed the tariff revision to provide the greatest assistance to low income customers. As a result, almost 60,000 customers will join the 70,000 that are already eligible for the federal government’s RM20 subsidy. This means that approximately 130,000 low income customers in Sarawak will receive a zero monthly bill.

For the 50,000 customers that are not eligible for the federal government subsidy and are consuming up to 150 units per month, the tariff will be reduced by more than 40 per cent. Furthermore, the 50,000 customers consuming between 150 and 200 units will get a reduction in tariff of 30 per cent.

The 80,000 customers presently consuming between 200 and 300 units per months will get a reduction in tariff of just below 20 per cent. The 50,000 consumers presently consuming between 300 and 400 units per month will benefit from a reduction of around 10 per cent.

The final 125,000 customers, with the largest monthly consumption of more than 400 units, will get a reduction of between 2 per cent and 4 per cent.

In total, 240,000 customers or close to 50 per cent of SEB’s customers will benefit from a tariff reduction of between 20 per cent and more than 40 per cent.

The revised tariff structure is deliberately aligned with modern tariff principles whereby the tariff rises with electricity consumption. This represents good social policy by offering the lowest prices for low income consumers and also to promote a green philosophy by encouraging efficient electricity consumption.

I am pleased to inform that the average electricity tariffs in Sarawak across domestic, commercial and industrial users were already the lowest in Malaysia. There are two significant milestones that have allowed the state government to provide further relief for our domestic customers.

Firstly, the lower cost of the new energy from Murum will reduce SEB’s average cost of supply thus creating financial capacity for the tariff revision. This is consistent with the state government’s long-term strategy to move away from high cost fossil fuels supplies to lower cost renewable energy.

In this context, the state government’s commitment in developing our hydropower resources through the SCORE Development Plan has delivered an early payback for the rakyat.

If one cares to look at energy costs throughout the world, only countries that produce energy from hydro dams are cheaper than those that use fossil fuels. For example, in Germany the cost is US$0.32 per kwh while in Canada it costs US$0.08 per kwh (based on 2011 Purchasing Power Parity).

Secondly, the value of the power that was lost due to power theft in the state has been cut by more than half since 2010. By avoiding the cost of generating the power that was being stolen, SEB now has greater financial capacity to reduce the tariff.

This outcome validates the government’s strong determination to attack power theft and stand up for the 90 per cent or more of customers who have never been involved in power theft.

The government is grateful to the Ministry of Public Utilities, SEB and the police for pursuing the fight against power theft, and for the courage and persistence of their officers in the face of intimidation by gangsters and the ill-founded criticism of this noble initiative.

Government Service Delivery

In every Five-Year Development Plan, we approved billions in funding to implement thousands of programmes and projects in the state. Many of these programmes and projects are public investments injected into the economy to provide the enablers needed by the private sector to carry out their investment activities.

The implementation of these projects must also meet the deadlines of private sector so that they can commence their operations on schedule. Any delay will not only result in cost overruns to the government but also the opportunity costs incurred by the private sector due to the delay in their operations.

The Five-Year Development programmes and projects are also meant for the rakyat to enjoy better infrastructure and facilities that lead to the improvement of their livelihoods. These are also promises made by the government to the rakyat and therefore must be delivered on time.

I want to make sure that all government agencies implement and complete their approved programmes and projects as scheduled to benefit the rakyat, especially in the rural areas. In this respect, I would also like the Honourable Members of this august House to work closely with the agencies to monitor closely the implementation of programmes and projects in their respective areas and to resolve any issue on the ground. We must ensure that the programmes and projects implemented are “value for money”.

For this reason, the government will continue to improve its service delivery system.  At this juncture, I am pleased to note that the State Civil Service is carrying out a Transformation Programme that encompasses key components of government service delivery. This is done to ensure the rakyat will benefit from the efficient and effective services provided by the Civil Service.

Chinese Education

I wish to reiterate that all education systems must be in line with the National Education Policy of providing education to all people who will in turn be able to contribute to the welfare, integration, harmony and development of our country.

Therefore, I have announced an initial allocation of RM3 million for Chinese Education to support them to further develop Chinese schools and the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and to work closely with the federal government (as education is under the federal government’s jurisdiction) in order to meet the objectives of National Education Policy.

Conclusion

I hope that my explanation especially on the progress of negotiation on petroleum royalty, illegal logging, electricity tariffs and other government initiatives has enlightened members of this august House.

I am committed to further strengthen the economic growth and development of Sarawak to improve the livelihood of the rakyat with more support and bigger assistance from the federal government especially in terms of development funding.

Akhir kata saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan Selamat Hari Krismas kepada semua penganut agama Kristian di negeri ini termasuklah rakan Ahli-Ahli Yang Berhormat yang beragama Kristian di Dewan yang mulia ini. Saya juga ingin mengucapkan Selamat Tahun Baru 2015 yang akan menjelang tiba tidak lama lagi.

Extract of the winding up speech by the Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem at the 17th Sitting of the State Legislative Assembly on Nov 19, 2014