Steering S’wak on the right course
Today marks the 100th day in office for Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg as chief minister
KNOWN fondly by Sarawakians simply as Abang Jo, the youngest so no four first Head of State Tun Abang Openg Abang Sapiee, took over helming Sarawak on Jan 13 following the passing of Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem on Jan 11.
The Borneo Post takes a look at Abang Johari’s performance and achievement sin his first 100 days as Chief Minister of Sarawak.
Maintaining Adenan’s legacy
As a seasoned and experienced politician, Abang Johari did not immediately embark on a series of transformative moves after being sworn in as the state’s sixth Chief Minister. Instead, he repeatedly assured Sarawakians on various occasions that the legacy of Adenan’s key achievements would remain intact.
Abang Johari made clear his stance of continuing with Adenan’s policies including the conservation of forests through freezing the issuance of new timber concessions remained frozen and not renewing occupation ticket licences; the continuation of coastal highway projects; the fight for the state’s autonomy and restoration of the rights enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 ( MA63); the continuous pursuit of 20 per cent oil and gas royalties; and maintaining English as the second official language.
Abang Johari who appears easy
What we suggest is to look at it judiciously. We fear there are discriminatory elements. This is syariah law, nothing to do with hudud, but the only thing we are concerned about is the penalty. Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, Chief Minister
going and affable showed his steely determination and discipline when he warned Barisan Nasional ( BN) elected representatives that those who failed to serve the people well would be dropped in the next election.
His seriousness to deliver BN’s election promises was proven by his annual allocations of RM5 million for each BN assemblyman to carry out projects in their constituencies.
In his first 100 days heading the state government Abang Johari has proven he has the will, wisdom and vision to bring development and progress to the state.
His leadership has indeed been well received by the people because it is seen as efficient, high in integrity, and clean.
Passing the first hurdle in the Tanjong Datu by- election
The Tanjong Datu by- election, which was cal led fol lowing Adenan’s passing, was seen as A bang Johari’s first acid test. In the three- cornered fight, BN candidate Datin Patinggi Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu – Adenan’s widow – won with a landslide 6,443- vote majority, which was 551 votes more than what Adenan garnered during the state election in May last year.
The increased majority was seen as an indication not only of Jamilah’s popularity but also acceptance of Abang Johari as successor of the much-loved and respected Tok Nan. Religious stance A bang Johari also took a firm stance to reject the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or commonly known as Act 355.
He clearly pointed out the implications should the bill be passed.
“What we suggest is to look at it judiciously. We fear there are discriminatory elements. This is syariah law, nothing to do with hudud, but the only thing we are concerned about is the penalty.
“For example, if I were caught stealing with another friend, he’s a non-Muslim and I am a Muslim. The penalty for me could be higher than his penalty in the Syariah court. But, under Article 8 in the Federal Constitution, everybody is equal under the eyes of the law,” he explained during a press conference on March 18.
“So, there must be no discriminatory penalty because we are all equal. He’s Malaysian and I’m Malaysian, he’s a non-Muslim and I am a Muslim, the penalty must be equal.”
Abang Johari’s clear stance, coupled with other state BN component parties’ opposition towards the bill contributed to it being dropped as a government Bill. Development Bank of Sarawak (DBOS) Abang Johari also announced that the state government will set up its own bank – Development Bank of Sarawak (DBOS) – to help fund strategic high impact projects that could propel Sarawak’s economic and digital transformation.
The Chief Minister confirmed that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had approved DBOS and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had been informed about it.
“The state government will operate DBOS with full financial support from the state government and it will function as a development bank only.
“This will be the second major asset besides Bakun Dam that will transform our economy within our control,” he told a press conference after the International ICT Infrastructure and Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (Idecs) 2017 on April 4.
He explained that the bank will help fund high impact projects in line with the state’s effort to promote its socioeconomic transformation catchup plan (2017 to 2030). This initiative is one of the eight resolutions the state government came up with following the two-day conference.
As an approved institution under the Development Financial Institution (DFI) Act, Abang Johari said DBOS would not undertake or advertise for public deposits as provided for under Section 137 and 138 of the Act.
“DBOS is to foster economic growth in Sarawak and to contribute towards the acceleration process of economic development of the state. In the process, the state will ensure the successful and prudent operation of DBOS,” he said. Bakun HEP The acquisition of the Bakun hydroelectric power plant from the federal government was also a strategic move by the Chief Minister to consolidate power production in the effort to attract foreign investors to the state. It was also a strategic move to ensure that the state government would be able to sustain relatively low tariffs for Sarawakians as well as investors.
The state government’s wholly- owned company Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) will make the acquisition priced at RM2.5 billion and take over the servicing of the outstanding loan of around RM6 billion.
The acquisition will enable the state government and SEB to have full ownership of all electricity generation facilities in Sarawak, providing SEB with greater flexibility in optimising the management and operation of electricity supply in the state.
“This is a major concession by Putrajaya and I would like to thank the Prime Minister for this. The acquisition of Bakun HEP represents part of our overall strategic plan to develop and consolidate the state’s abundant energy resources, which places the state in full control of the energy for the benefit of our people and our economy in the long run,” Abang Johari announced on March 8.
He added that the acquisition would spur Sarawak to become a powerhouse that is able to lower electricity tariffs for local consumers as well as export surplus power to neighbouring countries.
“What this means now is that we are acquiring Bakun HEP lock, stock and barrel. Meaning Bakun HEP is now ours and all the energy production is Sarawak-owned. In the long-run, it will benefit the people,” said Abang Johari. Digital Economy Determined to direct Sarawak into a digital economy, Abang Johari announced a RM1 billion allocation for the construction of more telecommunications infrastructure, including increasing the number of communication towers from 1,200 at present to over 5,000.
The nine- term Satok assemblyman acknowledged that the average wired network speed for Sarawak was four megabits per second (Mbps) per household, which is nearly seven times slower than South Korea’s average network speed of 29 Mbps per household.
As such, he is determined to provide not only urban folk with high speed Internet networks but also those in rural areas to ensure they are not disadvantaged.
Abang Johari said the state government would also take the lead in driving the development of high speed ICT infrastructure, rather than depending on commercial operators and service providers.
It is also his vision to make Sarawak an ICT hub for the region not only to boost economic activities but also to put Sarawak on the world map.
Abang Johari’s vision of a booming digital economy in Sarawak has begun to garner support from foreign players such as Chinese technology giant Huawei.
Earlier this month, the Chief Minister announced his commitment to bringing Sarawak into the digital age and boosting a digital economy through continued efforts to enhance connectivity throughout the state. The endeavour is estimated to cost around RM2 billion within five years.
“Such an amount is required for us to, among other things, lay down fibre optics, cloud computing and satellite to cover the whole of Sarawak,” Abang Johari told a press conference earlier this month. Housing Abang Johari, who is also Minister of Housing, also highlighted the state’s new two-pronged housing policy, which will offer more affordable houses through the People’s Special Housing Scheme (Spektra) with help from the newlycreated state-owed finance establishment Mutiara Mortgage and Finance.
He said houses built under this policy would be similar to those for the Bengoh Resettlement Scheme (BRS).
“The houses will be built similar to those in BRS, which will be concrete houses to be built on stilts. So once a household can cover the ground floor and the whole house will become a bungalow,” he said when launching the first 26 Spektra units in February.
At the function, he also introduced Mutiara Mortgage and Finance , which will assist house buyers who find it difficult to get loans from existing banks.
“The whole idea why we set up this new housing policy and new finance establishment is to assist our people to own decent homes. Right now, even some teachers can’t even get housing loans from banks,” he said.
He disclosed that Mutiara Mortgage and Finance was established with a rolling capital of RM50 million.
“But when we provide this kind of financing loan to the people, it doesn’t mean that they don’t
have to service their loans. It acts like a bank. So we must service the loans otherwise we will not be able to proceed with the next housing projects, which will be implemented somewhere else,” he pointed out.
The Chief Minister’s promise to build 50,000 affordable houses by 2020 could also be spurred through the use of modular construction following the signing of the Head of Agreement (HoA) between Sarawak Housing Development Corporation (HDC) subsidiary Green Modular R & R Bhd ( Smart Holding) and Foshan Conceiving Board-Manufacturing Co Ltd (CBM) in Guangzhou, China recently.
Foreign direct investments
Abang Johari has also been farsighted in ensuring that Sarawak would remain attractive to foreign investors despite the increasingly volatile global economy. As Chief Minister, he has already visited China – the state’s largest single investor – and signed various memorandums of understanding (MoUs).
This also follows in the steps of the federal government, which has established long-term bilateral ties with the world’s second largest economy.
In Beijing recently, Abang Johari witnessed the signing of an MoU for International Chinese tourism development company Beijing Glory International Culture Development Co Ltd to undertake a feasibility study on the viability of managing two Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) hotels – Damai Beach Resort and Grand Margherita Hotel.
NCR Land
The Chief Minister has also pledged that the state government will continue to assist the Natives with Native Customary Rights (NCR) land.
To carry on the initiative, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas has been tasked to head a special taskforce to address the various issues affecting NCR land status such as pulau galau and pemakai menoa, which the Federal Court ruled have no force of law.
Chinese community needs
Like his predecessor, Abang Johari has demonstrated his concern regarding the needs of the Chinese community. Even before any request was made, Abang Johari already announced that he would continue Adenan’s policy of supporting Chinese-medium education.
He began in February by allocating RM6 million to Chinese independent secondary schools, which Adenan had pledged to do.
Another concern of the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools Charitable Trust was the 2,000ha of land given to the Trust, which was found to be too inaccessible to generate income. Abang Johari has since instructed the Land and Survey Department to identify a new plot that is more conducive.
“I have discussed with our Land and Survey Department director to find the best land where there is existing infrastructure in the area and this enables them to develop the 2,000 ha and earn income for the Chinese schools,” he promised after the Federation of Chinese Associations, Kuching, Samarahan and Serian Divisions Sarawak 2017 Chinese New Year and 38th anniversary dinner on Feb 20.
Conclusion
The Chief Minister has proven the strength of his leadership over these 100 days.
In fact, he summed up his approach to governing the state when launching the Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) Agenda 2017 recently.
“I will carry on Tok Nan’s legacy. Maybe there will be a little change because I cannot be the clone. Just like Tok Nan’s ‘ooh-ha’ and ‘you-you’, even if I were to emulate him, I would not be able to say it exactly like he did.
“So I will have my own approach but the fundamentals are the same. Of course we want to improve and the emphasis is still on rural development,” he said.
Abang Johari will no doubt continue to administer the state for many more years to come without fear and favour, to ensure the people will continue to prosper in this Fair Land Sarawak.