Abang Johari officiating the ‘Sarawak Bumiputera Entrepreneurs Awards’ at a leading hotel here at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman last night.
KUCHING: Chief Minister Abang Johari Tun Openg has assured Bumiputera contractors that they will be prioritised for infrastructure projects under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) that are expected to be tendered out for the development of the state.
With the 12th Malaysia Plan soon to be announced, Abang Johari said certain portions of infrastructure projects can be carved out for the local Bumiputera contractors and healthy competition can be developed among themselves.
“I have instructed the relevant departments to adopt new principles so that Bumiputera contractors can have more job opportunities from the infrastructure projects that will be implemented in the state,” he said when officiating the ‘Sarawak Bumiputera Entrepreneurs Awards’ at a leading hotel here at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman last night.
According to the Chief Minister, Bumiputera contractors will be able to participate in more infrastructure projects, including those of the Rural Transformation Project which is being allocated a minimum of RM500 million for the past years on average, so long as they continue to development themselves via technical and management training programmes.
During the event, Abang Johari reiterated the four pillars where his Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)-led government will advance under 12MP, namely modern agriculture development, tourism and service, infrastructure such as utility facilities and education.
For modern agriculture development, Abang Johari said lands under the ownership of Bumiputera community can be developed collectively via Section 6A of the Sarawak Land Code, in the sector of agriculture through smart farming.
“At the same time, we can develop agro park, similar to the way we manage industrial park, where each Bumiputera will be given a specific plot of land that is equipped with basic infrastructure for them to development their agriculture fields.”
He said seed capital will also be provided to people who are interested in smart farming and the capital is to be issued in phases as according to the development of the state agriculture development.
For tourism and service sector, Abang Johari pointed out his administration is looking into medical tourism because a number of leading hospitals in the city will be undergoing expansion soon due to strong demand from foreign medical tourists.
“A hospital that specialises in cancer treatment will also be built in Tabuan soon. All these developments reflected that there is huge demand in the state medical tourism sector and it is up to us to formulate our strategies to capture its potential.”
In the fishery industry, Abang Johari said the RM70 million artificial reefs project, stretching 1,000 kilometres from the waters of Tanjung Datu to Lawas, will be the longest of such project in the world.
Furthermore, he said the state government is actively engaging with other governments for a joint-venture or collaboration opportunities, such as supplying electricity to Brunei and setting up of a Borneo Grid, via state-owned power utility firm Sarawak Energy Berhad.
“The Sarawak Trade and Tourism Office Singapore, that has been set up recently, has been a platform for us to network with our counterparts in the city island and I am satisfied with the response received so far as well.”
Lastly, Abang Johari shared he will announce more revenue streams in the upcoming State Legislative Assembly meeting that the state can tap into to generate more funds for Sarawak to be the most developed state in Malaysia by 2030.
In noting that Sarawak’s economy is estimated to grow by six per cent per year, Abang Johari emphasised the state will be developed according to its needs and uniqueness, without fully following the policies of the federal government.