KUCHING, Dec 24 — In his Christmas message today, Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government has done everything within its power to forge a better future for the state and its people.
He said this included significant upgrades to the road and internet infrastructure and human resource and talent development as prerequisites to elevating the state economy in line with current international trends.
“Not only are we trying to develop our infrastructure within the state but also air connectivity with other regions to facilitate air travel for tourists and business travellers.
“Therefore, we are setting up the state’s boutique airline for this purpose where profit is not the primary motivation,” the premier said.
He said the state government is also tapping the potential of Sarawak’s resources as it embarks on a journey together with the rest of the world towards a greener and decarbonised earth in order to reverse climate change.
“We have big prospects in hydrogen production as clean fuel of the future, carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), carbon trading and green biofuel from micro-algae.
“In short, the GPS government has laid down a clear roadmap towards economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic through the Post-Covid-19 Strategic Development 2030 (PCDS 2030) and realign the policies towards a greener and decarbonised earth,” he added.
The premier also expressed his gratitude to Sarawakian voters for their strong support in last month’s 15th general election, which saw GPS winning 23 out of the 31 state parliamentary seats up for grabs.
He said this showed that the people have confidence that GPS will continue to uphold its responsibilities to protect the interests of the state.
He reiterated that the GPS government gave its support to the national unity government as decreed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for strengthening and stability of the country’s administration.
“For the GPS government, what is more important than anything else is the interests and rights of Sarawak as enshrined in the Federal Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),” he said.
Abang Johari also urged the people to continue to nurture religious and racial harmony in the state, saying that the state is famous for its multi-racial and multi-religious society and does not face any problem to unite in diversity.
He added in Sarawak many Christian and Muslim families are living under one roof and churches and mosques do not have any problems with their locations next to each other.
“We feel lucky because we are somewhat protected from the religious and racial conflicts that often happen in other places,” he said, adding that the state’s immigration autonomy is able to prevent outside religious extremists from setting foot in Sarawak.
“However, Sarawak is not completely immune from extremist elements that come to Sarawak through cyber channels such as social media that are usually for the political interests of certain parties.
“Our fortress from these elements is only our own wisdom to filter what is good from bad and fact from fiction,” he said.
Abang Johari said, as the head of the state government, he gave his assurance that the GPS government will always preserve religious freedom in the state and that no forms of religious extremism will be allowed to affect the harmony and unity of Sarawak.
