Abang Johari thanks Najib for Pan Borneo Highway

KUCHING: It is Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who has made the dream of having a highway connecting Sarawak to Sabah come true despite the high price and without toll charges.

In stating this in an exclusive interview on TV3’s Mandat programme on Thursday night, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg shared that the government had applied to improve the road infrastructure in Sarawak in the past but was given a deaf ear.

“We already had the roads but they were too small so an upgrade to improve and widen the roads were needed. And we are truly thankful that Prime Minister Najib agreed when we raised this issue to him,” he said.

With better infrastructure, he added, Sarawak will certainly benefit when the entire state particularly the rural and remote areas are connected and opened up to more quality opportunities and development.

“As to the criticism from the opposition that the highway is a waste of money, as mentioned by Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan ( Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department) earlier, this is a chicken and egg issue,” he said.

“When we invest on infrastructure, definitely there will be impact on the people and areas because road infrastructure is very important to an economy,” he stressed.

He added that road infrastructure plus internet connectivity and the state water grid will be the pre- requisite to spur economic activities and growth in the long term for Sarawak.

“Our prime minister is a leader who is seriously listening to the heartbeat of the people including decentralisation of power in which he lets the state manage itself because when a state is peaceful the country will also be peaceful,” he said.

“It is an intelligent move knowing that if the state makes progress so will the nation. In the past, everything was centralised so I am thankful to the prime minister. You must let the people have their own initiatives in order to move instead of being tied up by centralised policies that would limit growth and process of development,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman who came on the broadcast through live streaming earlier, stressed that the highway is an important infrastructure that will connect Sabah and Sarawak and most importantly bring rapid development to rural areas.

“We truly appreciate this longawaited effort as it is something that the people and both Sarawak and Sabah governments have been longing for. We believe that if we build the infrastructure, other developments will follow after,” he said.

He noted that a lot of people especially the opposition in Sabah felt that it was not wise to build the highway and not charge tolls as it would be costly and a waste as there was not much development along the road.

“The Barisan Nasional ( BN) government however believes that when we open up rural areas with road accessibility, development, employment opportunities and increase in value of land will follow plus allowing for efficient mobilisation of government assets,” he said, adding that the Pan Borneo Highway will be the catalyst of development for both states.

Touching on the BN Sabah manifesto, he pointed out the most important point was protecting the rights of Sabah under Malaysia Agreement 1963 ( MA63) and Federal Constitution but through good and rational negotiations like how the Sarawak government was doing it.

“Recently, the federal government has agreed to return the rights to Sabah to manage oil and gas for which a paper has been tabled and approved by the Cabinet. Another is to manage electricity supply which has been under the TNB all this time but now will be returned to the Sabah government,” he said.

“These will benefit the people and we will continue to stand for the interests of the people and Sabah and pursue what’s rightfully ours whether taken away intentionally or unintentionally. We don’t need the opposition as the BN has already taken the steps and we are committed to move forward,” he added.

On continuing the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem’s legacy in safeguarding and restoring the rights of Sarawak under MA63, Abang Johari said he was satisfied with the progress so far as 13 matters had been discussed and resolved.

“There were a few matters in accordance with the MA63 and the constitution which may have been ignored such as in the development aspect which must be a shared responsibility as there are the federal, state and concurrent subjects,” he explained.

“However with 13 matters settled, we now enter the second stage of negotiation which touches on the provision of the law. I see that there are things in the constitution not being implemented, meaning not being complied with,” he added.

One of them, he emphasised, is oil and gas as according to Item 2(c) of the State List as per Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, Sarawak has the constitutional authority to issue exploration and prospecting licences and mining leases for petroleum (including natural gas) both onshore and offshore, within the boundaries of the state.

“This means any activities related to oil and gas in our land must first obtain the necessary permits, licences and leases from Sarawak government. So I want to use authority under the supreme law of Malaysia to enforce the compliance,” he said.

Hence, he pointed out, Petros was formed and given the mandate to manage the oil and gas sector in Sarawak.

“We already have the Mining Ordinance enacted in 1958 and enforced until today that gives the state government the authority to issue permits and licences,” he explained.

“And come July during the State Legislative Assembly sitting, we will enhance the Mining Ordinance including changing colonial terminology still being used such as ‘Chief Secretary’ to ‘Cabinet’,” he added.

Even though the state will exercise its rights, Abang Johari reassured that the interest of Petronas will not be affected and will leave the partnership or sharing negotiations to the executives to plan and ensure a winwin situation for both parties.