Adenan: The best yet to come
CM asks for another 5 years, foresees many more achievements if given the chance
KUCHING: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem believes if he were given another five years to lead the state he could achieve much more than he had done in his first year in office.
“In the one year since becoming the chief minister, we have achieved the reduction of electricity, the allocation of RM2.1 billion worth of contracts speci f ical ly for Sarawak companies by Petronas and so on.
“Imagine if it’s the next five years, there will be much more that we can do for the state. So give me five more years,” he told grassroots leaders at the opening ceremony of the state- level Grassroots Leadership Seminar held at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) complex yesterday.
The seminar, the first of the series of 11 engagement programmes to be held throughout the state was attended by 685 grassroots leaders comprising community leaders, ‘ketua kaum’ and Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) secretaries from Kuching, Bau and Lundu districts .
Adenan also called on grassroots leaders to assist the government in implementing its plans to ensure that services to the people by the government become more effective.
“As grassroots leaders, it is your responsibility to inform the people on any agenda, programmes and projects of the government so that there will be no confusion among the society on the government’s plans.
“Do not just keep quiet after attending a seminar. Tell the people what the government has done and will be doing,” he said.
He called on grassroots leaders to have pride and love for the state in serving the people .
“If we love Sarawak, then we know what we need to do so that our state is safe, successful and progressive in the future.”
During the ceremony, Adenan on behalf of the state government received the 2015 Sarawak JKKK allowance of RM121 million and a house aid programme allocation of RM50 million from Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
Meanwhile, State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani in his welcoming address said several topics were discussed during the seminar including preparation of village prof i le, talks on ‘ Sarawak Development ’, and ‘ Role of Grassroots Leaders’ among others.
In the one year since becoming the chief minister, we have achieved the reduction of electricity, the allocation of RM2.1 billion worth of contracts specifically for Sarawak companies by Petronas and so on. Imagine if it’s the next five years, there will be much more that we can do for the state. Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem, Chief Minister
He added that at present there are 565 community leaders throughout the state comprising 37 Temenggung, 78 Pemanca, and 450 Penghulu whereas for ‘ ketua kaum’, there are 5,456 of them consisting of ‘ ketua kampung’, ‘ tuai rumah’ and Kapitan ( Chinese and Indian).
“However, there are new ‘ketua kaum’ yet to be registered. As such, the state government hopes that the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development will consider adding 531 ‘ketua kaum’ in line with the growth of the population and settlements in Sarawak,” he said.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang, Local Government and Community Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, Industrial Development Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and DUN speaker Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar.