Abang Johari (fourth right) with Uggah (second right) and others during a visit at the ‘Smart Farming Pavilion’. – Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: Sarawak must be ruled by Sarawakians and Sarawak-based political parties, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Launching the inaugural Sarawak AgroFest 2018 today, he said he would look for innovative and holistic ways to develop the state.
As such, he said only Sarawakians can look after Sarawak well since non-Sarawakians might not have a clue about places in Sarawak given the state’s size.
“Sarawak must be governed by Sarawakians and Sarawak parties. They (non-Sarawakians) do not know much about Sarawak.
“Let’s say we want to develop Batang Ai, they do not even know where Batang Ai is,” he said at the launch that took place at the Penview Convention Centre (PCC) Demak here.
Abang Johari pointed out that the Sarawak state government is led by GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak), which is also an acronym for Global Positioning System.
“We have direction and we have policies that are consistent. Once we say it, we do it. Unlike some others, they promise but never deliver,” he said.
The Chief Minister said Sarawak government wanted agriculture to be an important sector to be the new source of wealth for the state, and emphasised that the perception on this sector should be changed as it had the potential to generate good revenue for those involved in it.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, who is also Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, said the event provided an opportunity for farmers, fishermen and breeders to engage in networking and business matching.
The International Conference on Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Sarawak 2018, which was held in conjunction with the nine-day event, registered 1,000 participants, he said.
“The sales at Sarawak AgroFest in the past five days was RM500,000, which means it’s RM100,000 every day. I am confident that more sales will be done in the next few days.”
He said a total of 210 booths had been set up at the Agrofest to offer various local products.
Apart from the conference and Agro Sales, a mini zoo, games, competitions and performances were also held.
The festival, which ends this coming Sunday (Oct 28), is to promote smart, modern and commercial agriculture as well as local agricultural produce and agro-based products.