PSB Youth to GPS govt: Prioritise people, not politics when dealing with Covid-19

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KUCHING (June 7): Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Central Youth wing has called on the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government to really prioritise the people and not politics when dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic which is currently very serious.

The PSB Central Youth wing said Sarawakians are giving up their personal interaction, cultural celebrations and commercial activities, livelihood and economic independence to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP).

They said while this sacrifice was understandable last year, it would not have been necessary this time around if the vaccinations had been delivered as promised, and had the government been more consistent and competent in the management of the SOP.

“In Sarawak, the GPS government seems to be moving in circles with regards to the procurement of vaccines, leading to confusion as to who actually is to procure the vaccines for Sarawak.

“The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and its political masters have been trying to play the autonomy card and politicise that the state was to procure the vaccines themselves, through it’s own coffers.

“At one stage, the Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg even announced that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had approved Sarawak’s request to procure an initial 500,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine to complement the federal government’s supply.

“However, all the talk was never to be, when Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah finally admitted that the state would now take its vaccine supply from the federal government, and, it was left to the federal minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin to announce on May 29, 2021 the immunisation programme for Sarawak,” they said in a statement today.

The PSB Central Youth wing said it was also disappointing to learn that only 3.7 per cent of population of Malaysia’s population has been fully vaccinated, as it is lagging behind that of the world average. They said 99.1 per cent of population in UK has been fully vaccinated.

The PSB Central Youth wing believed everyone should be working together towards ensuring that more Sarawakians are fully vaccinated rather than the “needless sideshow” of the SDMC trying to demonstrate their autonomy.

They said another needless “political show” was the recent GPS announcement on the pay cut for the State Disaster Fund, which PSB president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh had rightly questioned how the estimated RM3 million in deductions could help the people who have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The alleged donation is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the millions allocated by the state government through the Minor Rural Project (MRP) and Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) funds for GPS lawmakers.

“In fact PSB Constituency representatives and branch heads have been doing so much more even when they are not entitled to MRP and RTP.

“They have been quietly personally sacrificing for their constituencies for the longest time, some examples of their work include assisting in Covid-19 vaccine registration throughout the state; delivery of subsistence rations for the B40 (economically challenged group); and dissemination of crucial Covid-19 information.

“They have also been instrumental in highlighting and more importantly providing internet network communications through satellite links which for sure is servicing communities isolated during the pandemic,” they said.

The PSB Central Youth wing pointed out that even as early as March 20, last year, Wong had already announced then that he would donate one year of his salary for this cause.

They said the government is like the “Sun around which the planets revolved” and therefore the government’s intervention should be the cornerstone of Covid-19 responses as the people would look to the government to utilise its resources to help the people and with the economic recovery.

“It must determine what resources to be directed to what areas in order to save lives and livelihood.”

Besides that, they said the government is responsible for measures to help businesses stay afloat so that the economy would bounce back after the pandemic is over.

“It is without a doubt that the state government’s responsibility extends far beyond a nominal and insignificant salary cut, it is their duty to play a more responsible and concrete role to help the people.

“In this regard, the Singapore government ought to be emulated, the Singaporeans have introduced extraordinary budgets totalling S$193 billion (RM599.48 billion) to ensure that Singapore can protect lives and livelihood as well as to help businesses stay afloat and economy rebound later. This is what a competent and responsible government should do.

“We should source for holistic solutions, not just merely follow the Federal government to cut salaries. Sarawak DUN (State Legislative Assembly) ought to consider reviewing its overall expenditure, to reconsider how existing lavish projects have an impact on the overall long-term solution,” they said.

The PSB Central Youth wing said a review of mega projects costing tens of billions of ringgit such as the hydrogen bus, autonomous rail transit (ART) and second trunk road projects which are non-productive is indeed necessary and they should be cancelled if they do not bring immediate benefits to the people.

They believed that these painstakingly accumulated funds that have been accumulated over the years, ought to be used to save the small and medium enterprises from collapse and protect the employment and livelihood of Sarawakians.

“These are the issues that would be at the forefront of any Sarawak government led by PSB. Indeed much more is at stake then what GPS would like us to believe.

“Their continued half measures, and Malaya inspired politics will be remembered as much as ‘Nero fiddling while Rome burned’,” they said.