SIBU (Nov 6): Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) 15th general election (GE15) candidate for Lanang, Wong Ching Yong, said he will fight for RM1 billion development fund for the parliamentary constituency once he is elected.
Speaking at a press conference here today, he said he already has plans for Lanang and would disclose it in stages throughout the campaign period.
“I am very confident that if I become the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lanang, we will see a huge change in the development of Lanang. Give me five years and I will fight for RM1 billion allocation for Lanang.
“I am confident because if you see YB Joseph Chieng (Bukit Assek assemblyman), he only served for less than a year, he brought so many development projects for Bukit Assek,” he said.
He said under Chieng, Bukit Assek finally has an opportunity to transform for the better.
“I believe with our cooperation (Chieng and himself), the fight for RM1 billion is not an impossible dream,” he said.
He said the former MP for Lanang told the public that she fought for about RM2 million of funds for Lanang since she became the MP for the last two terms.
He said the amount is too little as it is equivalent to only RM200,000 per year.
Wong pointed out that although the allocation had been announced, if no one followed up, it would still be no use.
He said the case of SMK Dudong and SK Dudong is a classic example why follow ups are important.
According to him, the development funds for both schools were already in the 10th Malaysia Plan.
“Then after that, nobody followed up on the allocation because Datuk Dr Soon Choon Teck had already retired and then the new MP (Alice Lau) was elected as the first term MP in 2013, why she did not follow up?
“You have to follow up, or the fund will disappear. This is government bureaucracy,” he said.
He said that he had followed up with the project since 2019 and the allocation for the school was approved in the last national budget.
“But then again, it was approved, the dewan (parliament) has yet to pass the budget because the parliament was dissolved few days later. It has only been proposed, and the new MPs have to vote again,” he said.
He said it is crucial to have an MP from Lanang to make sure what had been approved in the budget 2023 will be implemented.
Chieng who also spoke at the press conference said that the project allocation is already on the papers. What is left is to put Wong in the parliament to make the project a reality.
He said although he had only been an assemblyman for less than a year, he could fight for a link road from Jalan Wong King Huo to Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman.