State govt, Abang Johari have ears for the people
KUCHING: Vice- chairman of Kuching Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and Industry Dato Sim Swee Yong is happy to note that the state government under Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg is listening to the people.
“It is clear that he has his hands on the pulse of all Sarawakians. He has quickly put into motion policies that meet the need of the local businessmen, with the setting of Development Bank of Sarawak ( DBOS). I am looking forward to more good news that will benefit more local entrepreneurs,” he said in response to the announcement made by Abang Johari on the establishment of DBOS on Tuesday.
“It is an exciting news and I am certain this will help to accelerate the state’s development agenda. It includes with it a new hope and a great optimism.
“Now that we are going to have DBOS, although the bank is mainly for development purposes, I understand it also includes finance for related sectors such as tourism. I think the business community also expects that the bank will transform into a commercial bank later on to give more personalised services to Sarawakians.
“In this way, the bank can drive entrepreneurship more effectively. This is something we hope can be achieved in the future,” he said.
He also mentioned about Sarawak having its own local banks before.
“Local banks then were aware of the local borrowing culture and
It is an exciting news and I am certain this will help to accelerate the state’s development agenda. It includes with it a new hope and a great optimism. Dato Sim Swee Yong, vice-chairman of Kuching Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and Industry
the trustworthiness level of the local business culture. It led to the loan approval process faster because decisions were made locally and based not only on proven income but also on track record and future earnings.”
He added that when local businessmen applied for loans through Peninsular Malaysiabased banks, the process was slow and approval more difficult.
He thus hoped that with DBOS, local businesses and businessmen would benefit from fast loan approval, which would translate into more projects to be implemented.
Sim, who is also president of The Federation of Kuching Division Community Associations, has in fact, called for the formation of a Sarawak bank in his speech during the federations’ Chinese New Year dinner earlier this year.
The dinner was also attended by Abang Johari and his wife, who also extended a grant of RM240,000 to the federation for distribution to its 24 members.