Keep being part of power sharing concept, says Adenan

KUCHING: Tan Sri Adenan Satem wants the Chinese community in Sarawak to continue participating in the power sharing concept that has served the state well over the years.

He reminded the Chinese that they were the first community to answer the call to form a government based on power sharing in 1970.

“As we usher in the New Year, in all sincerity I am inviting the Chinese community to continue to work with the government to develop Sarawak.

“Power sharing has worked well and we will continue to subscribe to the concept to build a better Sarawak,” the Chief Minister said in his Chinese New Year message.

He said power sharing would not work effectively if any one community was excluded from the coalition.

“I see no reason why the Chinese community now should lose faith in the concept of power sharing with other races in our common efforts to bring Sarawak to greater heights of development,” he said.

Adenan also said the Chinese had always been an important part of the state’s political and economic life.

He said their business acumen, vision and industriousness had positioned the community at the forefront of business, trade and industry in the state.

Noting that the Lunar New Year was part of Sarawak’s cultural diversity, Adenan reiterated that the Sarawakian Chinese of today could not be called pendatang (immigrant) anymore.

“Sarawak is your home for you are born and bred here like any other Sarawakian,” he said.

The Chief Minister called on Sarawakians to visit one another in the spirit of the open house tradition.

“Intermingling would allow us to interact meaningfully and be able to understand each other better.

“We cannot nurture and strengthen the bond of friendship among us without a good knowledge of our friends’ cultures, traditions and religious beliefs,” he added.

With 2016 being the Year of the Monkey, Adenan said there were lessons to be learnt from the animal’s characteristics.

“A monkey is a clever, cheerful and energetic (animal).

“We too, in the face of our everyday challenges, should always be able to get the better of adversities and have the energy, patience and heart to make our surroundings better,” he said, adding that coincidentally he was born in the Year of the Monkey 72 years ago.