KUCHING: Political secretary to the Chief Minister Tan Kai believes that Sarawak is heading towards the right direction through the transformation of the state’s economy into a digital one and also the establishment of its own Education, Science and Technological Research Ministry.
According to Tan, who is also Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Youth chief, Sarawakians should fully support the efforts and policies implemented by the state government including the promotion of the wide usage of the English language, the acquisition of Bakun hydroelectric power plant (HEP), and the setting up of Development Bank of Sarawak (DBOS) and Sarawak-owned oil and gas company Petros.
“All these show that we are heading towards the right direction,” he spoke at a ‘Jalinan Kasih’ event hosted by Kuching District Information Office at a hotel here yesterday, where he represented Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian.
Citing the establishment of its own education ministry as an example, Tan said this would enable the state government to focus on the interest of all schools and their students in the state, which might be different from those in Peninsular Malaysia.
“In Peninsular Malaysia, the schools get more allocations because they have more students per school. In Sarawak, we have schools that house 30 to 100 students each – resulting in them not getting adequate allocation.
“Now through our own education ministry, it enables us to look into providing better learning environments for students in more than 1,000 dilapidated schools, of which 400 are in critical condition.
“We will rebuild and repair these schools using funds from our own coffers first, and claim it back from the federal government later on.”
On the roles played by the state Information Department, Tan believed that the information channelled out by the department would allow him and other party leaders to come out with more ideas for the benefit of the people.
“We must continue to exchange information. When we share information, through conversations, there would be many ideas that we can execute for the people.”
Noting that each community would have its own issues in need of being addressed, Tan said Sarawakians must continue to live as a ‘big family’, adding that the interactions between them must be of common interest aimed at promoting unity.
Additionally, Tan also called upon the state Information Department to be ‘sensitive’ to what is happening on the ground, in view of the vast difference between the needs of the urban voters and those in the rural areas.
“There are many voters from Bandar Kuching who no longer reside in the constituency as they have moved to areas like Samarahan, Matang and Batu Kawah. (So) when we implement drainage and road resurfacing projects, we could not reach out to them because they are residing in other areas.”