KUCHING, Nov 27 — In congratulating Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for his appointment as the nation’s 10th Prime Minister, Party Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan hopes that he would honour the promise of restoring the rights and the status quo that Sarawak is entitled to without further bargain and delay.

In this regard, Voon has also expressed hope for the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to be able to work well with the new federal government under Anwar’s leadership towards fulfilling the aspirations of Sarawakians who want to see their state develop on par with Peninsular Malaysia.

"The last time I checked, we have over 60 ‘dangerous projects’. This should not have happened if the federal government led by Umno had been fair to Sarawak.

"I urge the honourable Prime Minister to look into the dramatic discrepancies in the development of infrastructure between Sarawak and Malaya.

"It’s high time for Sarawak to be given the focus of development in order to lift our people out from poverty and to narrow the development gap between Malaya and the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Voon stressed that the current government must place the state’s development as top priority in its agenda and there should be no excuse for it being unable to do so, in view that both Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) would be in the Cabinet together.

He also hoped that the Prime Minister could look into the national education system, focusing on revamping the education on the formation of Malaysia by incorporating the true account of how Sarawak became a part of the Federation of Malaysia; the status quo of Sabah and Sarawak reflecting two-thirds of the entire federation; and the concept of fairness, justice and equal partnership between Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia in the Federation of Malaysia.

"I hope the Education Minister’s post would be given to Sarawak or Sabah because if the education minister is from East Malaysia, he would know the problems faced by the students and the teachers better.

"Furthermore, I hope the Prime Minister and GPS would work together towards refurbishing and repairing all 600-plus dilapidated schools (to be supplied) with proper electricity and treated water, and to allow easy access of education for our children.”

Voon said the Prime Minister must also pay serious attention to upgrading hospital facilities in Sarawak, adding that many hospitals in the state were subpar and in dire need of upgrades.

He said aside from this, the contract doctors and medical staff should all be absorbed as permanent staff so that they would not worry about job security and thus, able to focus better in their work, given that the healthcare system in Sarawak was facing labour shortage.

Voon said Sarawak also should now get all oil and gas royalty, in view of how far behind Sarawak was in terms of development, by revoking Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74).

"I hope this new government could seriously look into this matter by working together with all stakeholders in Sarawak. This new government is expected to deliver a high standard performance for Sarawak — anything that falls short shall be considered as a failure,” said Voon. — Borneo Post