I am very proud of myself as Malaysian of Anak Sarawak for our very unique characteristics like the traditional goodwill and friendship that we have for each other in spite of our different ethnic origins, religious beliefs, colorful customs and traditions.
Somehow our friendship transcends all our differences. I remember while I was jogging in Tasik Perdana, in Kuala Lumpur a senior Police Officer, who I had not known in Sarawak, tabbed me on my shoulder and picked up conversation as if we had known each other for ages. Another Sarawakian, who had been in Semenanjung Malaysia earlier than me, invited me to have lunch with the family in Seremban. There were people of different ethnic origins and religious beliefs with me but our common feeling of being Malaysians of Anak Sarawak bind us together very strongly.
I wish to take this opportunity to wish all Malaysians Selamat Hari Raya. I also wish to take this opportunity to thank RTM for extending to me this Hari Raya message of the Chief Minister, Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud.
The text of his message:
"I wish to take this opportunity to wish you all Malaysians in Sarawak Selamat Hari Raya with the hope and prayer that we can also use this auspicious occasion of Hari Raya Aidilfitri to ponder on the future that we want to build for our children and grand children. Undeniably, we have already achieved the level of success that emplaces Sarawak as a state in Malaysia where to push forward to become the most prosperous and progressive state in the country.
During the last 45 years, the State government has been able to implement development program to transform Sarawak from being the least developed state to become one of the most progressive states in the country with the capacity to provide more opportunities for the people to raise their levels of incomes. Our development during the last 20 years has been able to create more and more jobs for the people. Actually, we have been able to create 1 million jobs from ½ million during the last 20 years ago. More importantly, the state government has been able to push development deeper into the rural areas. For example, more roads and infrastructure to provide clean water and electricity and other amenities and public utilities for the people are being developed in rural areas. As a consequence, the people can communicate with telephones and Internet with others outside their areas.
Since two year ago, the government has been developing the infrastructure to provide Internet connection to more and more schools in rural areas in order to expose pupils to the new techniques of learning of the world standard of quality. We believe that our people, who have been able to build up their capability, are ready to face the next level of development which is expected to be more sophisticated and difficult to carry out toward the year 2020 and beyond.
Admittedly, there are still areas that have not got the amenities and public utilities that have been requested by the people. We have a big state with more than 5,000 settlements and 60% of them, each have less than 50 families. The settlements are scattered over a wide area with distances ranging from three to 30 miles. The pattern of distribution of our population represents a real challenge to us in the development of the State. For example, it takes USA more than 200 years to bring development to the country. Great Britain and other countries in Europe take more or less the same period to develop their countries.
We all know that development takes time and requires all of us to play our roles with strong commitment and patience. Besides, we must also appreciate the need to nurture the right attitude in the process of development in order to benefit from it. We must decide our priorities based on the maximum benefits that they can give to the people, state and country. The State government has been adopting this strategy of development that has brought Sarawak to where it is today, one of the most progressive states in the country.
Sarawak has a big area, which is almost of the same size as Semenanjung Malaysia minus Melaka with a small population of 2.5 million, to develop. Understandably, though the size of the State is big but the population is small, we cannot expect to have equal distribution of allocation for development. The pace of development can be accelerated in Semenanjung Malaysia as there are 22 million people, who must be accorded their rights to development. Understandably, more attention has to be given to the 22 million people than those comprising 2.6 million. However, we have been able to move step by step forward.
I have been having discussions, on behalf of the State Government, with the Prime Minister, Dato Seri Haji Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak on development in Sarawak and I find him to be having a lot of sympathy and serious concern for the development and progress of the state. He has already approved a grant of RM4 billion to the State under a special program to construct more roads and infrastructure to connect clean water and electricity supplies to rural areas by the year 2012. The additional allocation is made under a special program for Sarawak and Sabah, which joined the new federation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963.
We believe that the Prime Minister, when he decides to push the level of development from the medium income to high income economy as outlined in the New Economic Model, realizes the necessity to upgrade the development of amenities and public utilities in Sarawak and Sabah to enable both states to catch up with Semenanjung Malaysia with its benefit of having a bigger population. For that reason, we are truly grateful to the Prime Minister for his concern to focus his attention to the problem of the State.
I believe Sarawak will be able to accelerate the pace of development under the 11th Malaysia Plan with the New Economic Model, which is based on high income economy. The State Government, being led by me, has been carrying out programs to attract huge investments to the State. The State has already attracted investments worth RM30 billion to develop heavy industries under SCORE development program. The development will be able to create more jobs with high salaries in Sarawak.
I wish to call on all Malaysians in Sarawak, as we celebrate this auspicious occasion of Hari Raya, to preserve Sarawak to remain attractive to investors. It must remain our way to push the level of development higher and higher so that the people can have more opportunities to earn higher incomes that can be equated with those in developed countries towards the year 2030.
It can be projected that the per capita of the people should be able to increase by three times from US8,000 to US24,000 towards the year 2030. It is projected that the development of the mid region of Sarawak under SCORE development program should be able to trigger the development of economic power that could spill over to areas outside the economic corridor of development. The program entails the development of magnanimous industrial projects like the setting up of aluminum smelting plants, pulp and paper mills, Halal hub in Tanjung Manis, oil plam and tree planting estates.
We must all appreciate the demand for the common struggle to be enlarged and made heavier if the state is to succeed in providing a better quality of life and a more promising future to our children and grand children towards the year 2030 and beyond. It is incumbent upon us to educate our children and train them to get more sophisticated jobs that can give them good salaries to enable them to enjoy the benefits of Independence that we attained through joining the new federation 47 years ago.
It is my responsibility as head of the State government to talk about development during this auspicious occasion as we prepare ourselves to enter the new era of the 10th Malaysia Plan next year. May Allah protect us and endow us with peace, political stability and greater dedication and commitment to achieve our noble aims of greater progress and prosperity towards the year 2030 and beyond. Selamat Hari Raya."
benuasains
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