Wong Soon Koh
KUCHING: Sarawak is fortunate to have three capable Chief Ministers for the past three decades, in the persons of Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem and Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
In stating this, Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said their leadership has resulted in political stability and national wellbeing which affect the lives of the people profoundly.
“I must say that the people of Sarawak have been so fortunate to have three very capable leaders in the past three decades or so as our chief minister, from Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud (now Head of State), the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem and now Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, so we are indeed very blessed,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Describing Taib as ‘Guardian of Sarawak’, he said Taib had brought many momentous things during the 33 years of becoming chief minister.
“Indeed, under Taib’s leadership, a new epoch had been heralded for Sarawak with unprecedented economic growth, unparalleled racial harmony and political solidarity,” Wong said, adding that the ‘Politics of Development’ propounded by Taib was to diversify and accelerate the pace of development in the state.
“The New Reality was a new way forward entailing the mobilisation and change of the people’s mindset and preparing them to be more development-oriented,” he stressed.
According to Wong, who is also Minister of International Trade and E-Commerce, Taib could handle so capably the daunting task of managing all the complex issues related to race, religion and culture, stressing that his rule was synonymous with Sarawak’s way of life.
He added that Taib, before becoming chief minister in 1981, was well aware that the state’s right had already been eroded, but used his influence to prevent outside forces to intrude the state.
He added that the status of the state was also elevated immensely in national politics under Taib.
On Adenan, he said Adenan was a people-centric statesman having introduced more than 50 policies to benefit the people in a span of two years.
“He (Adenan) was a quick-witted leader, took bold steps to restore the state’s rights through the devolution exercise with determination and perseverance and a leader who had Sarawak at heart, who had great admiration from the people,” he said.
On the present chief minister, Wong said he has a very good understanding of global scenario and economic outlook, and introduced digital economy.
“He (Abang Johari) clearly understands that we are facing various uncertainties and complexity, particularly with the emergence of global digital economy driven by the rapid advancement in technology and the pervasive force of digital transformation.
“So he immediately decided that we should embrace this new era of digitalisation and embarked on digital economy as one of the prime movers of the state’s transformation to steer the state into the next stage of economic development,” he pointed out.
He described Abang Johari as a person of great vision and far-sightedness, who has also mapped out his concrete firm steps to continue what his predecessor had left behind to restore the state’s rights as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Wong further said that Abang Johari dared to dream and would take concrete steps to realise the dreams, and dared to innovate and create. He urged Sarawakians to rally behind the leadership of Abang Johari to steer the state to greater heights.