MIRI: Capacity building in Miri has reached a commendable level in both the private and public sectors, with government allocation by the end of this year equalling the entire amount recorded in the first two Malaysia Plans (MP) for Sarawak.
TRANSFORMATION: Taib beats the gong to declare open the Miri Divisional Community Leaders Seminar, as (from left) Awang Tengah, Dr Chan and Moshidi look on.
Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said Miri Resident Ganie Ugay, who oversee allocation expenditure in the division, had quoted a figure of RM1.256 billion.
“Even in the 5MP… if this amount was allocated for Miri division, probably half would have to be returned (to the Treasury) as we do not have the capacity in terms of big contractors, sufficient engineers and quality of government officers,” he said at the opening of Miri Division Community Leader Seminar at Eastwood Golf and Country Club yesterday.
Taib said, such was also the positive scenario across the state due to strong support from the people, coupled with good leadership and a stable government.
“I am not perfect, no government is perfect, but if it (government) can provide good leadership and bring security, peace, stability, unity and social and economic benefits to the people … it is a successful government,” he said.
Taib said the cornerstone of success in any country is stability in the society due to the presence of a strong government.
The Barisan Nasional (BN) has proven this through the successful implementation of its five-year Malaysian plans which would be entering its 10 edition next year.
As such, Taib urged community leaders to continue to play their roles accordingly as the state continued to transform itself.
Taib pointed out that the state had emerged from the economic backwaters to become a top-rated investment destination today.
Its international rating is above those of Pakistan and many other Asian countries.
The prudent financial management and discipline had proven to be an asset in the state’s efforts to expand her economy through private sector-driven initiatives.
Taib said his approach of spending two ringgit on development for every ringgit on management, was a recipe which banks welcomed and responded to by offering low-interest loans at around eight per cent interest for borrowings.
The results of this effort were the transformation of the state’s infrastructure and economic base.
“When I took over from the former Chief Minister, the government funding could only develop 50,000 hectares of oil palm in 11 years. But now we have developed two million hectares with private funding, while the old model would have taken over 100 years to accomplish,” he said.
Taib chided the opposition for their poor grasp of governance, saying that peace, security, stability and long term plans are an asset to the state’s march to the fore.
“I hope the opposition knows this and play their role if they want to become leaders in this country,” he said.
Their brand of politics, he said, could bankrupt the government as it advocated subsidies and failed to take into account expenditure and sources of income or revenue.
“I have refrained from raising taxes in Sarawak, and only the timber boys were taxed so as not to burden the rakyat. On the other hand, certain quarters promises subsidies, which would mean that more taxes would have to be imposed to cover subsidies,” Taib explained.
Also present at the function were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan, Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, Advisor in the Chief Ministers’ Department Tan Sri Adenan Satem and State Secretary Datuk Amar Morshidi Ghani.