KUCHING, Nov 8 — Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg has appealed to the Chinese community to rally behind Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) candidates in the coming state election.
The chief minister said the Chinese community, most of whom had supported the opposition since the 2006 state polls, must think twice before casting their votes this election.
“We want the Chinese in the government, and GPS cannot be the government without the Chinese. The Chinese must be in the government.
“You (Chinese) back up SUPP as a partner in GPS, and together we will develop our state well,” he said before launching the Batu Kawah Riverbank Park in Batu Kawah here today.
Abang Johari called upon constituents of the Batu Kawah constituency to continue supporting the incumbent Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian in the coming polls.
“Prof (Dr) Sim and his (SUPP) comrades must be there (in the government) in order for us to develop the state together. I appointed him to take care of Chinese schools and now Chinese secondary schools automatically get RM10 million a year.”
He said he and his predecessor Pehin Sri Adenan Satem, who passed away on January 11, 2017, used to talk about recognition of Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).
He said they concurred that it would make no sense for the Sarawak government not to recognise UEC when universities in Singapore, Australia and the United States had done so.
“We want our people to be educated and then develop our state. We have a bright future provided we have dedicated leaders and Dr Sim worked really hard.
“There are those who do not go to the ground but just provide lip services and do not deliver their promises,” he added.
Abang Johari said some quarters said they would recognise UEC but until today, such recognition never materialised.
“They also talked about a 50-50 revenue sharing but where got? When he (national Democratic Action Party — DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng) was the finance minister, he said Sarawak would go bankrupt in three years.
“But this is already the fourth year and not only are we not bankrupt but we are able to make more revenue. We are not stupid, we know what we are doing. We have our direction and goals that we want to achieve by 2030,” he said.
Abang Johari said the GPS government had even taken care of the opposition areas such as Bukit Assek, which he said was a stronghold of the DAP.
He said he could feel the hardship faced by Bukit Assek constituents during a recent working visit to the constituency in Sibu.
“When I saw it, I pitied them as the environment there is not good for health tourism. For the sake of the people, we helped even though it is their (DAP’s) area because we put the well-being of the people first,” he added.
Last month, Abang Johari announced in Sibu, among others, to tackle the constant flooding in the low-lying area in Bukit Assek. — Borneo Post Online
