Tiong concurs with CM’s view on federal government
KUCHING: Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Dato Sri Tiong King Sing fully agrees with Chief Minister Abang Johari Tun Openg that the federal government has not only been an unreliable partner, it is also irresponsible by putting politics above the future of our children.
He said Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen’s statements on the repairs of dilapidated schools in Sarawak showed his ignorance on the issue .
Tiong added Yii’s defence of the federal government’s lax attitude in repairing the dilapidated schools in Sarawak is tantamount to ruining the future of thousands of affected students.
“But the worst thing about his incoherent statement is that he took advantage of the situation to gain political mileage. It is sad that he resorted to deceiving the people and arousing hatred for the Sarawak state government.
“In fact, the Sarawak government had always sought to actively coordinate with the federal government on allocations to solve the problems of hundreds of schools in the state. These days, the federal government is prone to giving the excuse of lack of funding not to carry out the most urgent repairs,” he said in a statement Monday.
Tiong pointed out that Dr Yii should realise that the Federal Government is in fact the one holding back the repair of dilapidated schools in Sarawak by not honouring the agreement that had been drawn up between both parties, which says that the first payment of RM350 million should be made before the project could start.
“We are talking about urgent repairs to address safety risks, not only education quality. Yet, Yii uses this opportunity to portray himself as a defender of the federal government’s purported need for procedures and implementation rules,” he said.
The Bintulu MP further said that Yii was merely using the bidding and appropriation process as an excuse for the federal government being unable to carry out basic repair and maintenance of dilapidated schools.
“Worse still, he alludes again to the legacy of the previous BN government.
Tiong blasted that this lax response to the agreement shows no sincerity and willingness to deal with the situation by the federal government, while their leaders continue to issue statements to make excuses and blame it on anyone else but themselves.
“Perhaps, the repair of schools has never been on the PH government’s agenda but was a vehicle for them to gain political mileage.
“The task of repairing dilapidated schools has been delayed for nearly two years, since the PH took office. There has been no progress whatsoever. There has been too much politicking using on the school repair issue,” he lamented.