Tiang: Chong playing ‘blame game’ to cover up PH failure

KUCHING: State Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Chong Chieng Jen has been accused of resorting to a ‘blame game’ as a cover-up for the former PH government’s failure to deliver its promises during its 22-month reign in Putrajaya.

Michael Tiang, the political secretary to the chief minister and Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Youth chief, said Chong, also state Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman, aimed to mislead Sarawakians with his ‘blame game’.

“Chong has to be honest with himself that bad decisions were made by the then PH government at the expense of Sarawak and its people’s interests in 2018,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The statement was issued in response to Chong’s remarks the previous day that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and SUPP should not blame the PH government for their failure to bring about further development to Sarawak in the last 57 years.

The Stampin MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman made the remarks in defence of the former PH government’s decision to call off the Petra Jaya Hospital project in 2018.

Tiang said the 2018 decision was another blatant example of the former PH government’s dismissive attitude towards Sarawak and the interest of Sarawakians.

He stressed that Sarawak would have an additional 300 hospital beds to cope with the current pandemic situation had the project not been cancelled.

“Albeit the said project was long declared as a sick project before the PH came into power, instead of taking charge of finding ways to cure that sick project, the PH administration opted for an easy way out, terminated the project without taking consideration that Sarawak’s needs for such a new hospital are in fact real and dire all along.

“When this Covid-19 pandemic hit us March last year, our dire needs for extra hospital beds are even more glaring. Should the PH government have allowed the Petra Jaya Hospital project to continue as planned with revised and tighter scrutiny and supervisions, Sarawak would have extra 300 beds to combat the pandemic,” he lamented.

Tiang said the 2018 meeting between the state Health Department, Local Government and Housing Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, state Public Works Department and Ministry of Health was conducted during the then health minister’s first official visit to Sarawak.

He added that the agenda of the meeting was merely to conduct a briefing for the then health minister.

“The main contractor was also present at the said meeting yet they were not allowed to present their appeals as to ways for them to continue and complete the project.

“In fact, there was no agenda at the meeting to consult Sarawak government on whether the project should be terminated for good or not,” he clarified.

He added that a final decision to terminate the Petra Jaya Hospital project was made at the federal level in Kuala Lumpur under the PH government alone.

During his Facebook Live session on Sunday, Chong said the Petra Jaya Hospital project was approved by the then Barisan Nasional (BN) government in 2011 and commenced in 2013.

He said the project, as announced by the then state health department director, was 36 per cent behind schedule and declared as a sick project.

He added that the contractor had been given another year to complete the project, but still failed to deliver.

Chong said the then PH government decided that the project was too sick to be continued and hence cancelled it, adding that Dr Sim and the relevant state authorities agreed to cease the project.