CM: Govt to bear half price of business premises in Kabong new township
KABONG: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) pledges to subsidise half the price of business premises in Kabong new township which will be developed by Land Custody Development Authority (LCDA).
The state government would honour the pledge if given another mandate in the upcoming state election, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg during a leader-with-the-people session at Kabong Market yesterday afternoon.
He said he understood that the business premises would be expensive due to the high construction cost and therefore not affordable to many local people doing small-scale businesses.
“If the price is RM1 million per unit, you only need to pay RM500,000 and the other half is subsidised by the government,” he said.
He said the state government had been able to provide subsidy and other assistance to improve the people’s livelihood due to its ability to look for new sources of income.
For instance, within just three years, the GPS government has managed to collect RM7 billion from five per cent sales tax imposed on Petronas’ oil and gas products, he said, adding the money could be used to implement various projects to improve the people’s livelihood such as treated water and electricity supplies, and roads.
He added that RM150 million had been approved to supply treated water to Kabong District while Betong Division would get RM550 million.
The state government was also using proceeds from the sales tax to implement projects that were cancelled by the PH government, he said.
The chief minister also hinted that Mohd Chee Kadir would be nominated to defend Kabong seat in the upcoming state election.
“Given the encouraging show of support accorded by the people of Kabong to Mohd Chee, there is no reason to change the candidate,” he said, adding, it had been the practice of PBB to give its elected representatives at least two terms to serve.