KUCHING: Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communications Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong hopes greater devolution of power from the federal government will mean more funding for the state Public Works Department (JKR) to implement projects under its purview.
Currently, he said funding from the federal government meant for the state would be channelled to the federal JKR.
“That is part of devolution of power. It’s not autonomy. So one of them is JKR. For JKR, we have state JKR and federal JKR. But a lot of the projects which are funded by the federal government, they (federal JKR) want to implement them.
“So when there is devolution of power, it means that the money from the federal government will be given to state JKR and state JKR will manage it. We have the capacity to do it,” Manyin told The Borneo Post after the tabling of the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP) by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem at the State Legislative Assembly on Monday.
He further explained that under the current practice, state JKR was under the directive of federal JKR.
“State JKR is only directed but the appointment of consultants for projects was done by that side (federal JKR). So that’s why it delays the whole thing. And when it comes to tenders, it’s also done by that side. So that’s why a lot of delays.
“Whereas if the money is given to us and we are given the power, JKR here will call the tender and we can decide who will be the successful tenderer(s). Things can be done very fast and we can also be the supervisor,” he stressed.
He cited two examples where projects from the federal government were delayed and state JKR had to come to the rescue.
“A good example is SMK Singai. It has nothing to do with state JKR. It’s all done by that side. And now it’s more or less an abandoned project and then they want to give to JKR Sarawak,” he said, adding a similar case was the State Prisons Department Complex in Penrissen which was abandoned but finally completed by state JKR.
Manyin said such instances of delayed and abandoned projects were one of the reasons why the chief minister wanted devolution of power from the federal government.
“So that we don’t have to duplicate our works; JKR there and JKR here. Let JKR here do what is meant for the state. Just provide us with the money,” he said.
Manyin pointed out that what the chief minister requested from the federal government was to determine and to distinguish what was in the Federal List and the State List.
“Federal List is normally in education, police, military and health. And in the State List we have agriculture, JKR and the environment. Environment is residual in nature as it’s not mentioned in the Federal Constitution. So it’s Residual List,” he pointed out.
Manyin said it is the responsibility of the federal government to give the necessary funding to the state as it collected taxes from its people.
On the political front, Manyin who is also Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) chief advisor hoped that the Bidayuh community would continue to support the BN Government led by Adenan by ensuring that all the candidates fielded by BN win with a bigger majority in the coming state election.
He said the community would be better off if it continued to be united and be with the government of the day.
Meanwhile, Manyin who is also Tebedu assemblyman said the Serian Division Resident’s Office would be completed by December and the District Office in Tebedu would be ready by next month.
He said more than RM3 million had been allocated for the building of the two-storey Resident’s Office, which also includes the Deputy Resident’s Office and the Treasury Office.
Manyin added that the ground floor of Serian Resident’s Office would be used for parking.