{"id":13757,"date":"2016-11-25T17:36:39","date_gmt":"2016-11-25T09:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/?p=13757"},"modified":"2016-11-25T23:20:59","modified_gmt":"2016-11-25T15:20:59","slug":"dato-sebastian-speech-at-the-dewan-25-nov-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/?p=13757","title":{"rendered":"Dato Sebastian speech at the Dewan (25 Nov 2016)"},"content":{"rendered":"

SARAWAK BUDGET 2017<\/p>\n

ADDRESS<\/p>\n

Datuk Amar Speaker,<\/p>\n

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to join the other\u00a0Honourable members to debate on the Supply (2017) Bill, 2016. First of\u00a0all, I would like to congratulate the Sarawak Government and YAB Chief\u00a0Minister who is also the Minister of Finance for tabling a\u00a0comprehensive and people centric Budget for the year 2017.<\/p>\n

OVERALL<\/p>\n

I understand that the next year budget is again going to be\u00a0development biased and rural focused. This is good as this will help\u00a0to speed up the development in the rural area in order for them to\u00a0catch up with the urban but at the same time not forgetting to achieve\u00a0a greater and more balanced development and to support a desired level\u00a0of economic growth for the whole of Sarawak as promised by our\u00a0 Chief\u00a0Minister in the Sarawak Election 2016. This shows that our Chief\u00a0Minister really walks the talk.<\/p>\n

Education and Infrastructure are very important for a country\u00a0to develop, progress and prosper. It is heartening to note that the\u00a02017 Budget gives greater emphasis in developing the necessary\u00a0infrastructure and amenities such as roads, drainage,\u00a0telecommunication, electricity and water supplies aimed at improving\u00a0the quality of life, and at the same time attracting higher investment\u00a0into these areas.<\/p>\n

EDUCATION<\/p>\n

Datuk Amar Speaker,<\/p>\n

Education is always very important to Sarawak and it has always been a\u00a0subject for discussion. For decades the directions and policies kept\u00a0changing whenever a new Minister of Education was appointed.\u00a0 This is\u00a0far from satisfactory. The medium of instruction was changed from\u00a0English to Bahasa Malaysia some 40 years ago based on nationalistic\u00a0sentiments. But the manner it was done had resulted in the drop of the\u00a0standard in English to the extent that a significant portion of our\u00a0graduates was not proficient in the English language and the graduates\u00a0were unemployable in the global world including local market.<\/p>\n

We all know the importance of English as it is the international\u00a0language for communication, for all aspects of knowledge, for business\u00a0and especially important for Science, Technical, Engineering and\u00a0Mathematics (also known as STEM). Our Chief Minister fully understands\u00a0this and had decided that English would be the second official\u00a0language for Sarawak. English would be used as a medium of instruction\u00a0to teach in all schools in Sarawak.<\/p>\n

I recognise and acknowledge the importance of Bahasa Malaysia as\u00a0a national language. Both Bahasa Malaysia and English can indeed\u00a0progress together and our students are smart enough to master an extra\u00a0language with ease.<\/p>\n

I am pleased also to note that in the Budget 2017 the government\u00a0is also highlighting the serious issues on shortage of teachers as\u00a0well as focusing on developing excellent teachers. Hence, we must be\u00a0focused to achieve 90% of our teachers in all our schools to be\u00a0locals, by year 2018. It is without doubt that we need all of our 4\u00a0Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG) in Sarawak continue to operate and the\u00a0call by our Chief Minister to halt the conversion of 2 IPG into\u00a0vocational colleges need to be supported by all members of the august\u00a0House. Yes, we need to have more vocational colleges or polytechnics\u00a0to enlarge the local skilled workforce but these should be in addition\u00a0to the IPGs and not at their expense.<\/p>\n

TIMBER INDUSTRIES<\/p>\n

Malaysia, except Sarawak, has banned the export of timber logs\u00a0many years ago. 41 years ago, that was in November 1975, I graduated\u00a0as sawn timber grader at Kepong Timber Research Institute Kuala\u00a0Lumpur. Even at that time, timber merchants and companies were only\u00a0allowed to export graded sawn timber products to overseas countries.<\/p>\n

Timber logs were banned from being exported overseas. This greatly\u00a0encouraged and helped the growth of the downstream timber industries\u00a0and creating more jobs opportunities. The spinoff of small and medium\u00a0wood-based industries greatly helped the economy of the country and\u00a0the people at large.<\/p>\n

I therefore fully support the intention of Sarawak Government to\u00a0introduce new and refined timber industries policies to encourage more\u00a0downstream activities. A proposed sum of RM 5 million will be\u00a0allocated to establish a Timber Downstream Research & Development\u00a0(R7D) Centre is a good start.<\/p>\n

SARAWAK GOVERNMENT ONLINE SERVICES<\/p>\n

Datuk Amar Speaker,<\/p>\n

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and offer my\u00a0appreciation to the Sarawak Government for the initiative undertaken\u00a0by State Civil Service (SCS) for venturing into online services for\u00a0the benefit and convenience of the people and to reach out to them.<\/p>\n

The Sarawak Government has implemented various ICT systems from\u00a0different government agencies in enhancing their delivery services to\u00a0the people.<\/p>\n

It is a commendable effort by the State Service Modernisation\u00a0Unit together with other government agencies in promoting their new\u00a0online services at the DUN\u2019s lobby during this DUN sitting.\u00a0 They are\u00a0at the right of DUN\u2019S lobby. This information is incredibly important\u00a0to me as Wakil Rakyat to bring back to my kawasan to share and inform\u00a0them.\u00a0 I was briefed by Madam Grace Houng Siew Hung, Principal\u00a0Assistant Director of CMO that the services such as eBooking system\u00a0and the JKR online water bill payment via Agen BSN are so important\u00a0and convenient to the people.<\/p>\n

I was informed that there are more than 500 Agen BSN throughout\u00a0Sarawak to help easing the problem of rakyat in paying their water\u00a0bills. The response by the public in using the eBooking system to book\u00a0for facilities by the National Parks has been very encouraging. I am\u00a0very thankful of their efforts and please keep up with the good work\u00a0for the rakyat. Thank you.<\/p>\n

HUDUD LAW<\/p>\n

Datuk Amar Speaker,<\/p>\n

Hudad Law is a very sensitive and important issue to us all in\u00a0Sarawak. We are very concerned and feeling very uncomfortable that a\u00a0Private Member Bill proposed by PAS Party President was debated in\u00a0Parliament yesterday. It was deferred to next session.<\/p>\n

SUPP is very firm and consistent. We had said that many times that we\u00a0are totally against the implementation of Hudud Law in Malaysia,\u00a0particularly in Sarawak. SUPP and Sarawak BN strongly opposed and had\u00a0indeed instructed their respective Members of Parliament to oppose and\u00a0vote against the proposed amendment of the Shariah Court (Criminal\u00a0Jurisdiction) Act 1956, also known as Act 355\u00a0 The proposed amendment\u00a0is against the provisions of the Federal Constitution and against the\u00a0safeguards provided for in the Malaysia Agreement 1963.<\/p>\n

Datuk Amar Speaker,<\/p>\n

Now, I would like to take this opportunity to touch on issues\u00a0concerning not only my constituency Piasau but Miri as a whole. There\u00a0are as follows:<\/p>\n

i.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Miri Moving Forwards<\/p>\n

ii.\u00a0 Tourism<\/p>\n

iii.\u00a0 Roads and Improvement.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0for Mulu National Park<\/p>\n

iv.\u00a0 Miri Port Authority<\/p>\n

v.\u00a0 New Service Industry<\/p>\n

vi.\u00a0 Housing and Squatters<\/p>\n

vii. Health Care<\/p>\n

viii. Immigration at Sungei Tujuh, Miri<\/p>\n

ix. Illegal Immigrants<\/p>\n

x. Haze in Miri<\/p>\n

MIRI MOVING FORWARD<\/p>\n

Miri is not only the second largest city in Sarawak but it is\u00a0also important as a historical place and, at the same time, a gateway\u00a0to many places of touristic interests. Historically, Miri had been the\u00a0birth place of the petroleum industry in Malaysia and her contribution\u00a0to the economic development of Malaysia in general and of Sarawak in\u00a0particular is unquestioned.<\/p>\n

Historical the small fishing Miri town grew because of the\u00a0discovery of oil in 1910.. One hundred and sixteen years ago..\u00a0Sarawak Shell Berhad had played an important part with the growth of\u00a0Miri, contributions to Miri and Sarawak economy, social developments,\u00a0culture, educational.<\/p>\n

I therefore would like to urge our Sarawak Govt to help Shell to stay\u00a0in Miri and Bintulu and\u00a0 to continue its important contribution to the\u00a0Miri and Sarawak economy and social developments.<\/p>\n

In recent times, Miri has witnessed a significant decline in\u00a0its economic activities particularly in the oil & gas industry, timber\u00a0industry and those ancillary service industries.\u00a0 This has\u00a0significantly impacted the Miri\u2019s community in terms of its local\u00a0businesses, social security and quality of livelihood.<\/p>\n

In view of keeping and improving the liveability of Miri City\u00a0and its social economic development, we need to have a forward looking\u00a0plan to achieve this goal.\u00a0 A cohesive and comprehensive approach\u00a0towards this end has to be committed by the local government,\u00a0communities and business sectors at large.<\/p>\n

I am pleased to note that the 2017 budget indicates a very\u00a0pro-active approach on the government\u2019s part in leading the drive and\u00a0getting all necessary parties to be involved.\u00a0 We should think\u00a0out-of-the box and find new synergies with its existing environment\u00a0and tap into those under-developed resources and exploit those natural\u00a0advantages in order to reap the profits.<\/p>\n

Due to her strategic position, Miri evolved into the melting\u00a0pot she is of the diverse cultural systems from so many different\u00a0races who live in the city or in its immediate hinterland. These\u00a0richly cultural races include Malays, Ibans, Chinese, Kayans, Kenyahs,\u00a0Kelabits, Lun Bawangs, Berawans and etc. Visitors to Miri cannot help\u00a0but be intrigued by the mix of so many cultural systems which exist in\u00a0perfect harmony with each other.<\/p>\n

Miri City has developed into a great shopping destination in\u00a0the northern Sarawak. It has great diving spots within an hour boat\u00a0ride away. It is also the gateway to the many natural beauties like\u00a0the Mulu National Park, the Niah National Park, the Lambir Hill\u00a0National Park and the Loagan Benut National Park. Undoubtedly Miri is\u00a0a beautiful city and has a lot to offer.\u00a0 We need more promotion and\u00a0marketing of Miri in overseas and in Malaysia.<\/p>\n

I am happy to note a sum of RM 48 million will be allocated in\u00a0the 2017 budget for the purpose of creating new growth impetus by\u00a0leveraging on tourism as the key driver.<\/p>\n

Federal Government\u00a0 should also allocate a like sum of RM48 million to\u00a0Sarawak Ministry of Tourism .<\/p>\n

It is hope that tourism industry players will benefit from\u00a0those initiatives in government\u2019s efforts to transform the tourism\u00a0industry in Sarawak..<\/p>\n

TOURISM<\/p>\n

In line with \u201cMiri Resort City\u201d mandate, tourism is an obvious\u00a0industry we should put more emphasis on.\u00a0 It is also to Miri\u2019s natural\u00a0advantages that being close to Brunei and Sabah, there are a lot of\u00a0synergies that we can capitalize on and cross pollinate with our\u00a0neighbors. In order to create a lively and interesting ambiance for\u00a0tourists to feel worthy of staying in Miri for a longer duration, we\u00a0need to encourage and promote improvements in the following aspects.<\/p>\n

Food & Beverage (F&B)<\/p>\n

We need to develop new and unique F&B attractions to complement its\u00a0existing entertainment and F&B services and offerings.\u00a0 Both tourists\u00a0and locals alike, welcome an unique F&B attraction.\u00a0 We can explore\u00a0into several possibilities, like, Food Street, Food Trucks Park, Miri\u00a0Riverine etc.<\/p>\n

These sorts of offerings will improve the catering to both tourists\u00a0and locals, and generate new businesses and new jobs. Local Councils\u00a0should allow these and indeed be seemed to promote these new areas of\u00a0economic activities where ordinary people can actively participate and\u00a0hope to make a reasonable living in this challenging time.<\/p>\n

Hotels and Accommodation<\/p>\n

We believe that Miri has already established itself to be gateway to\u00a0Bario Highland, Mulu National Park, Tusan Beach and Niah Cave National\u00a0Park.\u00a0 We can value-add to these existing establishments by creating\u00a0more theme related or creative resorts around them making those\u00a0destinations more interesting and attractive.\u00a0 This will draw in more\u00a0tourists who will prolong their stay.<\/p>\n

Museums and Heritage Centre<\/p>\n

In order to enhance Miri as an interesting destination for Culture and\u00a0Arts of Sarawak, it is important to develop museums and centers for\u00a0arts, culture, heritage and history.\u00a0 The existing facilities like\u00a0Miri Petroleum Museum, Handicraft and Heritage Centre should be\u00a0upgraded with more facilities, e.g. cafe, shops and exhibits range.<\/p>\n

New theme or interest museums, gallery and local arts centre should be\u00a0set up.<\/p>\n

Upgrading Miri Airport<\/p>\n

Our State Government must fight for the landing rights of\u00a0international airlines to Miri. I understand both the Minister of\u00a0Tourism and the Assistant Minister of Tourism are actively pursuing\u00a0their efforts to negotiate for more new direct flights to Miri.\u00a0 We\u00a0are looking forward to receiving the tourists in early 2017.<\/p>\n

We need more qualified\u00a0 trained and professional\u00a0 tourist\u00a0guides. Courses must be organised by the government as soon as\u00a0possible.<\/p>\n

ROAD and IMPROVEMENTS FOR MULU NATIONAL PARK<\/p>\n

Mulu National Park is world renowned. The only access to Mulu by\u00a0tourists is by air to the small airport of the park. Flights can be\u00a0cancelled and severely delayed due to poor weather conditions that\u00a0make it unsafe to fly to the small airport.\u00a0 Furthermore, tourists do\u00a0not want to travel half way round the world to be told that they\u00a0cannot get to Mulu National Park due to bad weather.\u00a0 This leads to\u00a0bad publicity.<\/p>\n

I agree with the Honourable Member for Telang Usan that it is\u00a0time that we build a road to the Mulu park. The new road can stop at a\u00a0river jetty near a kampung and outside the boundary of the national\u00a0park. The jetty point can be man by Park personnel. The jetty point\u00a0must have facilities like secured car parks, caf\u00e9, toilet facilities\u00a0and shops selling local produce. Tourists can only enter the Park by\u00a0river transport from the jetty.<\/p>\n

This ensures that there are no unauthorized visitors to the\u00a0Park. The river ride can also serve as a tourist attraction as it\u00a0passes the scenic jungle.\u00a0 This will help to bring tourism related\u00a0economical developments to the rural places, and also provide tourists\u00a0with a more definite and interesting transport to the Mulu National\u00a0Park.<\/p>\n

The road proposal will help open up the Mulu National Park that\u00a0will benefit the community economically. The Jetty Entrance Point is\u00a0where we can manage the number of people entering the Park, just in\u00a0case it gets too popular and the government does not want too many\u00a0visitors in the Park at any on-peak period. It will also be good to\u00a0increase the number of flights to Mulu National Park from Miri.<\/p>\n

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SARAWAK BUDGET 2017 ADDRESS Datuk Amar Speaker, Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to join the other\u00a0Honourable members to debate on the Supply (2017) Bill, 2016. First of\u00a0all, I would like to congratulate the Sarawak Government and YAB Chief\u00a0Minister who is also the Minister of Finance for tabling a\u00a0comprehensive and people centric Budget for the year 2017. OVERALL I understand that the next year budget is again going to be\u00a0development biased and rural focused. This is good as this will help\u00a0to speed up the development in theRead More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13757"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13760,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13757\/revisions\/13760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}