SUPP Sec gen, Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew New Year message

suppadmin | December 30, 2022

Time flies and another year has gone by. We bid farewell to 2022 and welcome the new year of 2023. 2022 is a year full of memories, both good and bad and we accepted it with grace. Finally, we are seeing the tail-end of COVID-19 epidemic that has plagued us the last three years. Come this year, various businesses will gradually open up and we bid farewell to the tedious restrictions we suffered before. Most importantly, the economy is beginning to take off and moving towards recovery.

Another turning point is the new political situation in our country after the 15th General Election. GPS won 23 seats in the election and the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party also took back the Sarikei seat plus maintaining Serian. While there is a hung parliament in our country, no coalition has a simple majority of seats to govern, GPS complied with the decree of the Agong and participated in the formation of a Unity government. With the people in mind, GPS joined forces with the Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional to form a new government to stabilize the political situation.

For the general public, the political turmoil in the past few years and the power struggle of politicians in West Malaysia, there seemed to be endless choas. With the coupling of COVID-19 epidemic, this added to the people’s misery. To make matter worst, the unstable situation has put a stop to foreign investment. For the young generation, there seem no hope for this country.

Therefore, in Malaysia under the Unity government, the people are hoping that the future will be better, the economy will recover steadily and there is better livelihoods maintained. As a member of the Unity government, the GPS is responsible for safeguarding the well-being of the people with representatives of the Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers and Deputy ministers of the Federal cabinet. GPS will ensure a better and more stable development for the country.

For year 2022, Sarawak also ushered in many historic moments, which included the establishment of the Sarawak Wealth Sovereign Fund and Legislation to manage carbon storage activities. Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari also announced the 2023 budget totaling RM10.797 billion presented at the DUN Meeting, and it is expected to generate RM11.0035 billion in revenue next year, proving the outstanding governance of the GPS.

With GPS as the state government, we can forsee a better future. With the development of the new economy and efforts to develop new sources of income, the Sarawak government’s revenue will continue to increase. These revenues will be used for development projects that will benefit the people, including infrastructure construction, ART projects, and education development. The sovereign fund is to prepare for the future generation. We are confident that, under the prudent financial management of the Sarawakian government and the visionary leadership of the Sarawak Premier, the Sovereign Fund will eventually achieve its goals to benefit all Sarawakians, including providing free university education in future.

In terms of the tourism industry which was hard hit by the epidemic in the past, 2022 seemed to be a better one. With the opening of the borders in Malaysia and other countries, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. In the first ten months of 2022, the number of tourists in Sarawak reached 1,378,017, an increase of 1118.41% compared to the same corresponding period of last year.

The Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industries and Performing Arts of Sarawak believes that the number of tourists visiting Sarawak this year will reach 1.8 million, surpassing the original target of 1.2 million. This is an exciting and good news, and those in the tourism industry can look forward to more tourists and business opportunities in 2023.

The Sarawak government expects the number of tourists to reach 3 million next year, and is expected to earn RM7.25 billion in revenue. In this regard, I sincerely invite the tourism industry and related industries to join hands to launch more exciting tourism packages and services, and together we can create a better prospect for the tourism industry. The Sarawak government will also try its best to promote and improve the development and construction of tourism facilities, create the best tourism environment, and strive to attract tourists to visit.

What is certain is that the Sarawak government will continue to implement various programs to benefit the people in the new year, regardless of race and religion, and will treat all ethnic groups fairly. I call upon all the people of Sarawak to continue to unite. Under the new political structure and new challenges, we must continue to defend the traditional values of Sarawak, that is, to value harmony and mutual tolerance, to continue to make Sarawak a national example, and to ensure that the Sarawak government, with the strong backing of the people, can reclaiming the rights stated in the MA63.

I believe that 2023 will be a year worth looking forward to with full of hope. Saying goodbye to past experiences and trials, the new year will definitely be better. I wish you all a new year of progress, peace and health!