Ling (third right) cuts the ribbon to officiate the Hock Ming Jetty while others look on.
SIBU (July 9): Sibu Member of Parliament (MP) Oscar Ling said there is a need for democracy reform at the state level so that the people of Sarawak could enjoy more benefits from the state government.
Speaking to reporters at the opening of Hock Ming Jetty at Kampung Hilir here today, he said despite having reforms at the federal level, nothing has changed at the Sarawak level.
He said among the reforms that took place at the federal level included allowing 18-year-olds to vote in the election and opposition MPs receiving the same Minor Rural Project (MRP) allocations as the ruling government MP to serve their constituencies.
He said recently, the Parliament has discussed whether to limit the service term for the Prime Minister to two terms only.
“These are all happening at the federal level. What I see now at the state level, we do not see a lot of reforms in the state legislative.
“There are a lot of things we need to urgently reform. For example, in Parliament, every MP has to submit 15 questions and no matter what, Parliament has to answer.
“But in the state legislative, they can choose to answer or to ignore your questions,” he pointed out.
He said reform is needed for a more transparent government and not just talking about development, although it is also important.
He said another aspect Sarawak could emulate is to give a fair fund allocation to every state assemblyman and assemblywoman regardless whether they are from the opposition party or the ruling party.
“This is already part of the Parliament reform and I hope this practice will continue after the next election and become a normal practice.
“We want to see such changes in the state also. At the moment, opposition Aduns are not given any allocation and I think this is not fair for the opposition.
“It is like saying that people should not vote for opposition, if you vote, you get nothing, you get punished by the state government and this is not a real spirit of democracy,” he said.
He pointed out that allocations must be fairly given so that the opposition state assemblyman and assemblywoman can also perform their duties and help the people in their respective constituencies.
Ling also said that there should be a discussion whether to limit the term of service of Premier to two terms.
Meanwhile, on the Hock Ming Jetty, he said the upgrading project cost about RM70,000, to change the wooden platform to concrete.
He said this was made possible with his 2019 MRP fund and was completed in 2021. The completion was delayed due to the Movement Control Order (MCO).