Adenan: Entry ban applies to all, including those from BN, who pose danger to state’s peace, security
Adenan, Jamilah (front, third and fourth left, respectively) and others raise their hands during a segment of the opening ceremony.
MIRI: The state government has never abused its autonomy over immigration matters by banning politicians from the opposition side or those critical of the government from entering Sarawak.
According to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem, the ban applies to all individuals whom the government regard as bigots or extremists and they are a risk to the state’s peace and unity.
“It is my duty to protect Sarawak, so do not accuse me of banning only opposition members — I will also ban BN (Barisan Nasional) people from coming here if they pose a dangerous risk to our peace and security,” he said in officiating at the ‘Sejiwa Senada 2016’ programme at Miri City Council (MCC) Field yesterday.
Adenan said the state government practised an open policy, but would not tolerate racists and extremists who were out to destroy the unity of the multi-racial and multi-religious society in the state.
“I will not allow the likes of (Datuk) Ibrahim Ali and Dr Ridhuan Tee (Abdullah) to come here and poison the minds of our people,” he said.
Adenan, who is state BN chairman, reiterated the state government’s stand of not allowing Umno to be established in Sarawak and in view of this, he expected the opposition parties here to follow suit.
“In the last State Legislative Assembly sitting, I said we had no problem to come with a motion of not allowing Umno to enter Sarawak — provided that the opposition parties would also motion on not allowing peninsula-based parties like the DAP and PKR to come to the state. However, they (elected representatives from the opposition) just kept quiet,” he said.
On the delayed construction of Baram hydroelectricity dam, Adenan said the state government might do away with the project if the state’s power supply was able to accommodate the demands by consumers.
“For now, the Baram (dam) project will not proceed. This decision has taken into account the views and grouses from the villagers who are affected by the project,” he said.
Meanwhile, Adenan stressed that his appeal for the mandate from the people in the next state election did not mean that he was ‘hungry for power’; rather it was for him to fulfil all his promises of development for Sarawak.
He said he would need another five years to make things happen and for the people to witness it.
“I am not ‘gila kuasa’ (hungry for power) and I don’t need 33 years to prove my capability — only five more (years) to serve the people, who shall see their expectations and hopes be fulfilled in time,” he said.
Adenan pointed out the Pan Borneo Highway project as one of his 45 promises, insisting that Sarawak had waited far too long for the much-needed development which he said, had been ‘unfortunately’ neglected.
“Sarawak has waited for 50 years for a safe and comfortable Pan Borneo Highway; and no, I would not wait another 50 years to make it happen — the people can see for themselves when the time comes.”
He said the new highway, spanning 1,089km from Telok Melano to Merapok, would not only provide safer utility for road users across Sarawak, but it should also open more economic opportunities for the locals.
Talking on other developments, Adenan insisted that he would focus on the rural areas in bridging the gap between them and the urban areas.
“It is rather unfortunate to admit that (there are) more poor people in rural (areas), and more rich people in the urban/city areas. To bridge this gap, RM500 millions of funds will be put in for rural development projects,” he told the 30,000-strong crowd who turned up at MCC Field yesterday.
Adenan also touched on the 45 principles and actions that he had listed under 13 categories — ‘Anak Sarawak’, ‘Free or Reduce Fee’, ‘Government’s Promises to Chinese Independent Schools (UEC)’, ‘Petronas Commitment’, ‘Rural Transformation’, ‘No Non-Sarawak Political Party’, ‘State Governments Stand/ Policies’, ‘Forest Management and Enforcement’, ‘Sarawak Harmony’, ‘Technical Education’, ‘Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak’, ‘Teachers in Sarawak’, and ‘Sarawak Land’.
“You can go through the details (of every category) on the leaflets that are distributed freely at the exhibition booths here. Make sure you keep them, so that you can refer to them in future.”
Later, Adenan and his wife Datin Patinggi Datuk Jamilah Anu went on stage to present allocations worth a total of RM470,000 to 25 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from here, Bintulu and Lawas. The funds were given out under Petronas’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.
Petronas Sarawak Regional Office general manager Shamsur Taha, several state and federal cabinet ministers and government officials accompanied Adenan and Jamilah during the handover on stage.
The statewide ‘Sejiwa Senada’ programme kicked off its first leg of tours here on Friday and will run till today, before proceeding to Sibu next weekend.