CM urges Azam to touch base with the people

KUCHING: Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem wants Angkatan Zaman Mansang (Azam) Sarawak to interact with the people more to help push the state’s socioeconomic transformation pace.

“This is more so for the rural communities, where communication services are lacking. The government is now placing greater emphasis on rural transformation,” he said at Azam Sarawak’s 33rd anniversary dinner here on Saturday.

“Azam should play a greater role in the rural areas by engaging the people through dialogues, forums, conferences and social media to bridge the information gap.”

His speech was read out by Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan.

The chief minister said Azam must work with youths, too, by tapping their potential, talent and energy.

To meet the state’s aggressive industrialisation agenda, he said, “We need to develop and nurture our youths to be innovative and creative entrepreneurs and skilled professionals.”

He said the state’s population was small, but its relatively huge land mass housed lots of natural resources.

“Hence, in order for the state to achieve a high income economy, industrialisation is the way forward. We need huge investments, particularly foreign direct investments, to spur economic development.”

Given this, he said, Sarawak had to invest heavily in its human capital.

While the government continued to work hard to attract foreign investments, Adenan said local businesses and the people in general should also benefit.

He admitted that when Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) projects at Samalaju first started, there were grouses on the lack of business opportunities for locals.

“This is where Azam should play its role to effectively communicate with the public, especially the business communities. The business opportunities are there, particularly for our SMEs, from construction stage to operation and maintenance phases,” he said.

“But due to lack of effective communication, our SMEs were not well aware of these opportunities. In the end, my ministry had to gather all the press and bring them to Samalaju to see for themselves and report the situation.”

He said political stability represented one of the prerequisites for foreign investors to invest in the state.

He thus urged Sarawakians not to take the prevailing peace and harmony for granted.

“The misuse of social media is a cause for concern, which may affect our delicate social fabric.”