Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

Thank you for the honour and the opportunity to debate Yang Amat Berhormat, the Premier’s address at this third meeting of the first session of the 19th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly.

I wish to congratulate our Premier of Sarawak for a handsome win in the 15th general election, winning 23 out of 31 parliamentary seats. I also wish to thank my 32,000 voters who have given me their unwavering support as well in the just concluded GE15. I wish to assure our people that I shall continue to serve our rakyat dutifully and diligently. Fighting for the rights of Sarawak will always be my priority and mission.

On another note, I would also like to emphasize that member for Padungan who stood in the Stampin parliamentary constituency should apologise to Sarawakians.

During his campaigning he said, GPS =UMNO and Najib will be out of jail and Zahid will be pardoned if GPS wins the election. Member for Padungan owes Sarawakians a big apology for misleading them with his lies.

Budget

I also wish to congratulate our YAB Premier of Sarawak, member for N26 Gedong for presenting the best ever budget in the history of Sarawak for 2023 at more than RM 11 billion.

I am indeed proud that with his prudent wisdom he has made Sarawak richer and with the projected revenue of RM11.035 billion and total Ordinary Expenditure of RM10.797 billion, the 2023 State Budget is expected to generate a surplus of RM238 million.

Sarawak Sovereign Wealth Future Fund Board Bill

I also wish to congratulate our Premier of Sarawak for successfully tabling the Sarawak Sovereign wealth future fund Board bill which is our Premier’s brainchild project. 

Member for Padungan on his Facebook page criticised the bill on sovereign wealth fund saying that the finances should be more transparent. I wish to remind member for Padungan to take a look at himself. Where is the RM4 million given to him during the MOU signing ceremony? Member for Padungan has been an ADUN and MP for three terms. Where is his report card? I have mentioned it before and I am still waiting for him to produce his report card. Member for Padungan also said that councils in general only submit financial reports every few years. Member for Padungan must be so busy holding two posts, an ADUN and an MP that he did not realise the financial reports from MPP, MBKS, Samarahan including 18 other councils are sitting on his table this DUN session.

Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

Multi racial state

Premier of Sarawak in his budget speech reiterated that Sarawak does its best when it comes to our openness to diversity and multiculturalism. This is a blessing for us that we are all united together despite our differences in race, religion and cultural belief. 

There is no other state in Malaysia where different races can sit and eat together in coffee shops or restaurants.The Sarawak government has always promoted unity among us and this is something we should treasure and teach our next generation to continue with such ‘togetherness’.

Unifor is another entity found only in Sarawak. Rm50 mil has been allocated to churches and temples in 2022 to promote healthy development of all religious and cultural exchanges in Sarawak.

Sarawak has demanded for many rights to be returned through MA 63 and the IGC report and as Premier of Sarawak stated, the Sarawak government will not waver on the rights due to her. GPS has spoken loudly and I urge all Sarawakians to continue to support GPS led by our Premier who only wants the best for Sarawak.

Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

Ongoing projects

I wish to thank our Premier of Sarawak and the GPS government for the construction of a sludge treatment plant at the Batu Kitang water treatment plant, the construction of water treatment Plant No. 5 at Landeh, Batu Kitang, a water storage tank at Bukit Sipaya, the rehabilitation of water treatment Plant No. 1 at Batu Kitang and other water supply projects costing a total of 125 million. These construction projects will no doubt create job opportunities and economic activities in my Batu Kitang Constituency for many years to come.

Education

The Sarawak government’s emphasis on education is well known. For example, the teaching of Science and Mathematics in the English Language is only done in Sarawak. In our drive to improve, Sarawak is also teaching Science, technology, Engineering and Mathematics in English to ensure that our students can compete in the global arena.

Our GPS government has also emphasised UEC and each year, allocations are pumped into Chinese schools to assist them. This year alone, RM22 million were allocated to Chinese schools. Our Sarawak government is the first in Malaysia to recognise UEC and despite multiple promises by PH and the rocket, they have not recognised UEC.

Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

The accident prone Mile 15 roundabout

I have spelled out the danger faced by road users at the roundabout at Mile 15, Kuching/Serian road. This roundabout was badly designed and constructed by JKR during the days of Pakatan Harapan. How can a small roundabout be constructed in the middle of a straight highway? It has caused a lot of accidents there, even fatality.

Since its completion, within six months, there have been over 200 accidents. This is something the Federal Public Works department (JKR) Malaysia should immediately redo and change the lane to a designated U-turn similar to the ones in Siburan.

I went there a few times and when it rains, the situation is worse as road users’ vision can be affected by the pouring rain. I trust that the Federal government can address the problems as soon as possible to prevent more people from being hurt or killed.

Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

Cycling lanes for new housing estates

I wish to propose that cycling paths be put up in new development areas. Cycling as a hobby and exercise is catching on among the young and the old. 

With this, we can have a wide area of cycling paths. As traffic is increasing, there are cyclists who have no choice but to cycle on the main roads. This is dangerous for cyclists and vehicular traffic too.

So with cycling paths done in housing estates and eventually connecting to these main roads which will also have cycling lanes, cyclists do not have to travel far in order to cycle and they can be safe too.

Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

Grab subsidies

I propose that subsidies be given to Grab drivers. As Grab has been so popularly used during the pandemic, it would be a good idea to use them to continue to deliver food to every corner in Sarawak as well as a form of public transport. The State government may consider subsidising Grab drivers so that passengers will need to pay less, thereby increasing the use of Grab, increasing income opportunities for Grab drivers,bringing convenience to locals and tourists and most objectively, reducing the number of vehicles on the road if passengers opt for shared rides. This way, traffic congestion on the roads will also be reduced. As time goes on and once other forms of public transport gets commissioned including Autonomous Rail Transit and hydrogen buses, we will need fewer private and individual vehicles on the road, thereby reducing pollution and immense traffic congestion.

Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

Secondary school

Padawan, including Batu Kitang, is growing fast in terms of population. We need another secondary school to cope with the increasing number of school children. There are many children in Padawan and Batu Kitang who are forced to travel a fair distance due to the lack of a secondary school in Padawan and I wish to propose that this Secondary school be built in Batu Kitang. I would also like to draw attention to the call for Sarawak teachers to be given priority to teach in all schools in Sarawak in line with Sarawak’s call for education autonomy to be returned to Sarawak.

Bomba station

Besides that, a Bomba station is urgently needed as well. There is one in Bau and the other nearest one is in Kuching. There is none in Padawan and the transit time can be long if there is major traffic on the roads.This was one of my pledges during the recent election. I guess the job rests on the member for Padungan now.

Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

Flooding

Flash flooding is a pertinent issue not only in Sarawak but all over Malaysia. Sarawak, however, needs a substantial amount of funds from the Federal government to address this issue. My Batu Kitang constituency has not been spared from experiencing flooding after just one hour of heavy rain. Sarawak may need to plan for major drainage reserves under our approved plans in future. Developers will not be able to carry out these major drainage works as such heavy costs will render their projects unviable. The Federal government ought to come in to assist to build up these drainage reserves assuming a fully developed environment to adequately accommodate future drainage requirements. Billions of ringgit are required to efficiently address flooding Issues in Kuching and Greater Kuching alone, not to mention the whole of Sarawak.

Marris funds

There are many old housing estates in my Batu Kitang constituency and even more in the MPP jurisdiction. Drains and footpaths, especially back lanes in old housing estates need to be addressed and reconstructed. Rm22mil from Marris funds for Padawan Council annually is grossly insufficient to address these issues. Marris funds come from the Federal government and there is an unreasonable condition attached to this Marris funds wherein repair to back lanes cannnot be expended from Marris funds. With RM80 billion siphoned from Sarawak annually, Marris funds should be reviewed and should be increased substantially to meet the needs today.

Digital Connectivity

I wish to congratulate the Premier of Sarawak for approving a substantial allocation for tower construction and to establish better telecommunications and internet accessibility in his budget speech. 

Handphone services in Kuching are known to be bad. If the services are so bad, I wonder about those in outskirts area. I often have my conversation cut off when driving at Mile 4. Upon reaching Mile 7, my handphone conversation would be cut off again. I hope that the authorities concerned will beef up the construction of more telecommunication poles so that access to wifi and phone services will not be disrupted. In some suburban areas, people have difficulty connecting to their wifi.

Thus there is a need to widen internet coverage and connectivity especially to rural communities. Now that we are in the technology era, it is important that more telco towers are constructed so that students will have access to do their schoolwork. During the pandemic, many rural students were unable to study due to the lack of internet connection. This is something we need to look into seriously. 

Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

Suffering in the Covid years

The past three years have been turbulent with the presence of COVID-19 which affected and caused tremendous hardship for many of us. Thankfully, the Sarawak government acted fast to prevent the worst from happening. Sarawak was one of the first states to receive vaccination and it was indeed organised well.

Sarawak, like the rest of the world, faces unprecedented economic challenges and life threatening issues. The Sarawak government has been proactive in reaching out to help businesses that are failing, giving discounts to public amenities, cash incentives and giving out assistance through BANTUAN KHAS SARAWAKKU SAYANG (BKSS) etc. Indeed, the Sarawak government has a heart to understand the plight of its people. Syabas! to the Premier of Sarawak for understanding the needs of the rakyat.

Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

Hydrogen Economy

The Premier of Sarawak is indeed a farsighted leader. He has long since held a vision for the hydrogen economy. Congratulations for his wise judgement. This is something already happening globally. Hydrogen will indeed be the energy source of the future. From his tabling of the Sarawak Budget, Premier disclosed that globally, USD160 billion of direct private investments have been recorded, and more than USD400 billion additional private investment in hydrogen plants have been taken up by various governments worldwide.Thus, Sarawak is aiming to become a leader in hydrogen economy, with plans to begin large-scale commercial production and export of hydrogen by the year 2027. The collaboration between South Korean companies like Samsung Engineering, POSCO and Lotte Chemical, together with Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) to develop hydrogen and green ammonia plants in Bintulu, shall be an integral part of our hydrogen economy development.

Tourism

Sarawak hopes to be a leading destination for eco tourism and business events. Overseas tourists who have to live in concrete jungles look for tourist destinations rich in cultural diversity with much to offer in their natural habitats. With our rich natural jungles, we can transform Sarawak into a preferred tourism destination which can help improve the rural communities’ economic opportunities. 

My own area, Kota Padawan’s beautiful scenic areas have great potential to be a leading tourist attraction. Padawan is one of the fastest growing areas and a tourist attraction both for locals and tourists. I have always encouraged the locals to create more business and job opportunities for themselves through tourism. We can develop the area into a vibrant region and a retreat for locals during weekends.

Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker

I wish to express my full support for the Supply Bill (2023), 2022 delivered by our honourable Premier of Sarawak, member for N 26 Gedong.

Finally, I would like to wish our Christian community Selamat menyambut Hari Krismas and a Happy New Year to all Sarawakians.

Thank you, Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Speaker