Abang Johari (sixth left) and his wife Datin Amar Datuk Jumaani Tuanku Bujang join ACCCIS president Hu Yu Siong (seventh left) and committee members for a toast at the Chinese New Year dinner.
KUCHING: The state has not lifted the freeze on timber licences that was put in place by former Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem.
Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg clarified that there was some misunderstanding over his announcement on Thursday regarding the issuance of short-term timber licences through tender.
“They thought I have decided to ‘un-freeze’ the frozen licences. No, they stay that way.
“Tok Nan had frozen those timber licenses and we will continue the freeze,” he said at the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Sarawak (ACCCIS) Chinese New Year dinner on Friday.
He explained that land earmarked for development would require the trees on the plot to be cut down.
“Small pieces of land maybe 1,000 acres, then they have to cut down the trees. That we have decided to do it by tender. We want to be transparent so that everyone can put in their bid,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abang Johari said Sarawak will likely hold an international conference to get input from global experts on formulating a new economic policy.
“We are a small state, with a small population. To move forward we must have good and new ideas. The business community must change
the way they manage their businesses and aim to go beyond Sarawak.
“I will try my best to identify the best direction for our economy,” he said, citing the importance of moving from a traditional to digital economy.
“Business today is all based on information and communications technology (ICT). Therefore, if we want Sarawak to embrace the global economy, we have to improve on our ICT infrastructure.
“If we want to sell products from Sarawak, we need to go digital and use e-commerce,” he said.
Abang Johari also stressed the importance of protecting the environment.
“We must protect our environment. When we want to get investment, we must be very selective.
“We give priority to clean industries, not the polluting industries. Because once you bring in polluting industries, there is a cost to it, especially to manage the polluted environment. We want more clean industries, and the service industry, such as tourism, is clean,” he said.
ACCCIS president Hu Yu Siong called on the state government and local authorities to review policies that restrict the development of business and industry.
“We hope that the government will be able to simplify the permit application procedure and the documents required.
“We also suggest the government to be more transparent and equitable in the implementation of open tender system to provide equal opportunities for more companies to participate in so as to improve the competitiveness and transparency of the nation’s policy,” he said.
He also called for better competitiveness by reducing or exempting the levy on foreign workers.