KUCHING, Sept 6 — Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen opined that it is ‘most unwise’ for Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg to put the future of the nation and state in jeopardy just because of his personal feelings against DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
“Yesterday in Miri, (Datuk Patinggi) Abang Johari revealed that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) had decided to join PAS and Umno to form the federal government because of Lim Guan Eng’s so-called ‘insult’ that Sarawak may be bankrupt in there years under GPS.
“If that were the true reason for GPS to put PAS and Umno in federal power, we Sarawakians should be very worried with Sarawak being governed by such leaders whose personal feelings reign over national public interest,” he said in a statement today.
The Kota Sentosa assemblyman said the PAS-Umno collaboration was “the most toxic combination against the progress of the country.”
“PAS is well-known for its religious conservatism and to a great extend bigotry and Umno has a proven track record of corruption and racism.
“The recent announcements and policies have once again proven these undesirable traits of PAS and Umno such as the introduction of Friday as Jawi day, the insult on Bible in Parliament, the proposed permanent closure of pubs, the segregation of genders in cinemas in Terengganu, the reduced allocation for Chinese schools and the renewed attack on vernacular schools as cause of disunity among Malaysians.
“On the aspect of governance, we also see the return of ‘Cash is King,’ first with the increase of ministerial and deputy ministerial posts and the appointment of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) MPs to government-linked companies and government agencies as a reward to their loyalty to PN such as the revival of direct-nego projects and in Kuching, even the revival of gaming outlets with jackpot machines,” he said.
Chong pointed out that what Lim previously said regarding the Sarawak government’s financial management could also be taken as a warning against the extravagance of GPS’ proposed mega projects.
“Lim Guan Eng was not alone in sounding the warning. Former Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, who has held that posts since 2011, also made similar remarks and warned that if GPS does not review its various mega projects, Sarawak’s financial position may be in dire state.
“Though (Datuk Patinggi) Abang Johari is constantly bragging about the RM31 billion reserves of Sarawak, what he did not highlight is the multi-billion debts owed by the Sarawak government’s companies which the state had committed to repay with state fund,” he said.
He said Abang Johari and GPS’ mistake for allowing their personal feelings to cloud over sensible thinking thereby putting Umno and PAS in federal power has now threatened the secularism of the country.
“Sooner or later, the religious freedom and racial harmony of Sarawak will be affected with the federal government turning to be more religiously conservative and even extreme,” he added. — Borneo Post
