Chiew alleges no Sarawak companies playing big role in SIP
NO SARAWAKIAN company has played a part in the billions and billions ringgit of investments poured into the development of Samalaju Industrial Park (SIP).
Chiew Chiu Sing ( DAP-Tanjong Batu), who pointed this out to the august House yesterday, said more factories had come in and been established at SIP in the last 10 years, but they are all nonSarawakian companies.
“When Tokuyama first started out at SIP, Bintulu had benefited so much. They said at that time, when Tokuyama sneezed, Bintulu would catch a cold.
“When SIP was implemented, people were very excited that Bintulu will have another boom again. Ten years on, the feel good effect is no more.
“These non- Sarawakian overseas factories have come and done almost everything themselves. The materials they need come prefabricated from overseas, the machineries they use are from overseas, even the manpower they use are also from overseas,” he said when debating the Head of State’s official opening address.
Chiew asserted that this was why the impact on the economy “is so little as we in Bintulu only do small time, may be rental van or some other menial jobs”.
He said the overseas companies had bought “our lands and we supply them with cheap electricity”.
According to him, these foreign companies are very established and making money.
“That is fine and they should rightly be rewarded for their entrepreneurship and investment. But the problem is that all the money they make does not stay in Sarawak.
“Being from overseas, the money goes back overseas. All of it, billions and billions of ringgit which they made. We are left with nothing, back to square one. That is why our economy is growing so slowly,” he lamented.
Chiew said the construction of dams to offer renewable energy seemed to be another similar move that would benefit foreign companies just so that they could make money and bring to their home overseas again.
He said while billions of ringgit were spent on Sarawak’s infrastructure to pave the way for the implementation of dam projects, so many rural Sarawakians still do not have access to water and electricity supply as well as decent roads.
He noted that some mainland Chinese companies are planning to build the largest steel mill in Southeast Asia at SIP.
“These companies from China will buy up a huge chunk of the SIP. Our cheap renewable energy in Bakun, Murum and Baleh will be used up in no time. Yet what do we get?
“I can foresee SIP will soon be a ‘ Samalaju Foreign Industrial Park’ where the overseas companies will enjoy making money, so much money, because of our resources, primarily land and cheap energy resources,” he said.
Chiew cautioned that the future generations of Sarawak will ‘ blame us for selling so much of our land and electricity to foreign companies so cheaply’ and would demand to ‘get back our rights’ like what Sarawak is presently fighting for over its oil and gas rights.