SIMANGGANG, Dec 1 — Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg took a swipe at federal politicians who are indulging in an endless quarrel among themselves for positions, especially on who should be the next prime minister after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad steps down.
“There is this party whose leaders have no other things to do, except quarrel all the time,” he said, referring to the squabbles between factions aligned to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his deputy, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.
“Until today, they can’t even find solutions to their quarrel or search for a person who should be prime minister number eight or maybe, they are looking for prime minister number nine or number 10 or even number 11,” Abang Johari said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a RM5 million waterfront in Lingga, near here.
He also performed another ground ceremony for the construction of the Lingga service centre.
Abang Johari said the people in Sarawak considered themselves lucky because the state is peaceful and that its leaders, instead of fighting among themselves, are using their time to develop the state.
“We in Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) don’t fight over positions or who should be the chief minister. Leaders come and leaders go. There is no issue to it.
“Whoever is the chief minister, he is the chief minister for all communities in Sarawak,” he said, adding that he became the chief minister after the demise of his predecessor Pehin Sri Adenan Satem in 2017.
“Whether or not I like it, I have to take over as the chief minister,” Abang Johari said.
He said among his main tasks is to continue with Adenan’s work in improving the living standard of the rural communities.
He said it is for this reason that the state government allocated almost 70 per cent of the development budget for rural areas.
The chief minister also reminded the people to ensure that the state remains peaceful and its racial harmony be safeguarded.
“There are those outsiders who come to Sarawak to instigate us to quarrel among ourselves, just like them in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said, adding that the setting of the federal Village Community Management Council is a tool to break up the unity of the rural people.
