MATU, June 30 — Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg today claimed that “outsiders” are jealous of Sarawak because of its natural resources.
He said they are now going all out to woo Sarawakians into supporting them in the coming state election.
“They (outsiders) know that despite the reduction in funds from the federal government, we can still administer the state because we have the vast resources,” the chief minister said, without specifying who the outsiders are.
Speaking at the closing of a Matu festival and performing the ground breaking ceremony for the new Matu commercial centre here, Abang Johari said the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government will never surrender the state to the “others”, adding that Sarawak must be ruled by Sarawakians.
The chief minister also maintained that there is no way Sarawak will go bankrupt as claimed by federal Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
“How could we become bankrupt when we have revenue generated from oil and gas and other sources?” he asked, saying that Lim was talking about spending by the state government, but never mentioned about the state’s source of revenue.
He said the total annual revenue of the state is more than the RM11 billion allocated in the state budget.
The chief minister said that the state government will also construct Batang Lassa, Batang Paloh and Batang Igan bridges from the federal government.
He said the state Public Works Department (JKR) is in the process of selecting contractors for the construction of RM300 million for the Batang Lassa bridge while the tenders for the construction of the other two bridges will be called soon.
The chief minister said the selection of the contractors for the three bridges, all in Mukah Division, is done through open tenders.
The previous Barisan Nasional government approved the construction of the three bridges, but was withdrawn by the Pakatan Harapan federal government.
