KUCHING, March 10 — Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) today disputed claims made by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg that Sarawak is poor because much of its oil and gas revenue goes to Putrajaya.
“We don’t deny that Sarawak does contribute to the national coffers from its oil and gas revenue and income tax, including goods and sales tax (GST),” its chairman Chong Chieng Jen told reporters.
However, he stressed Sarawak can still be a rich state because it has coal, timber and plenty of land.
“All the coal, timber and land are managed by the state government. Even taking away oil and gas resources, these natural resources would still make Sarawak one of the richest states in Malaysia,” he said.
“But the management of these natural resources by the state government has made the majority of Sarawakians poor while making a handful of selected Sarawakians super rich. That is the crux of the matter,” said Chong, who is also the Sarawak DAP chairman and Stampin MP.
He urged Abang Johari and the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government to review its pro-crony policies, instead of making sweeping statements trying to exonerate themselves from the wrongs that they have done to the Sarawakians.
“You just look at the timber companies, and coal mining companies, how rich they are?” he asked, adding that Sarawak has its wealth, but it does not benefit Sarawakians as a whole.
He said timber resources have created super-rich timber tycoons while the majority of Sarawakians are poor.
“While Abang Johari can make the accusation that Putrajaya has taken our wealth, he should also make the same accusation that these timber tycoons have taken our Sarawakian wealth as well.
“There are also a lot of government contracts that have enriched the construction conglomerate basically on the state government contracts which have been awarded without open tender,” he said.
Chong, who is also the deputy minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs, admitted that Sarawak contributes some money to the federal government.
“Likewise, the federal government also pays for the salaries of teachers, medical doctors, nurses, policemen and soldiers serving in Sarawak,” he said.
At a dinner to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) on Friday, Abang Johari had claimed that Sarawak, despite being among the top three richest states in Malaysia in terms of contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was poor because much of the revenue from oil and gas went to Putrajaya.
He had said the state government wanted to have a larger share in the oil and gas revenue for the benefit of its people.
