KUCHING: Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) has described Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s recent statement about Sarawak going bankrupt in three years’ time under the rule of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), as ‘an insult to Sarawak and Sarawakians’.
MoCS founding chairman Francis Paul Siah expressed his disappointment that a federal minister had the gumption to come to Sarawak and tell Sarawakians that their homeland would be bankrupt in a matter of time.
“If Lim’s statement was a political move to draw support for DAP (Democratic Action Party), then it had backfired.
“It only made Sarawakians resent the DAP and Pakatan Harapan (PH). Such a callous statement would probably cost PH a huge chunk of votes,” he told reporters yesterday.
He suggested that Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, would let Sarawak leaders handle Sarawak’s affairs as ‘they (Sarawak leaders) are more than capable of doing so’.
According to Siah, there are Sarawakians who find the condescending attitude of some federal ministers intolerable.
“If federal ministers have to visit Sarawak, please come and give us what is due. Don’t come here to boss Sarawakians around or play politics.
“We have enough of politics and elections, and the 14th general election ended over a year ago. Sarawakians look forward to a revitalisation of the economy.
“Our businesses need to move, our graduates need jobs, our B40 group needs housing, we need more schools and qualified teachers, we want better healthcare – and so on,” he pointed out, adding that politics and elections were of no priority to Sarawakians at the moment.
He also said Sarawak could not afford to operate in the same manner as the US, a superpower where political leaders ‘only had to work for two years and campaign for two years’.
“We want our leaders to work for five solid years after every election.”
Siah said with the next Sarawak election being just two years away, it was unnecessary to start campaigning now as ‘there would always be elections’.
“We need our elected legislators, from both sides, to work for the people and not to waste time politicking,” he stressed.
Siah added that MOCS would continue to be the voice of Sarawakians and would not hesitate to speak up ‘if we find our political leaders going astray’.
“Even the prime minister or chief minister is not beyond criticisms. To MoCS, they are ordinary public servants who get salaries paid by the taxpayers – the people are their bosses,” he said.