THE state government’s continuous efforts on rural transformation with focus on providing and improving basic infrastructures are important to lure and expand economic activities in agriculture, commercial farming and tourism industries of Sarawak.
Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who highlighted this yesterday, said nearly 44 per cent of Sarawakians still live in rural and remote areas with huge economic potentials that can be developed for their benefit.
“The rural areas in Sarawak need basic infrastructure development including roads, water and electricity supply as well as health and education facilities in order to support economic activities and improve living standard of people,” he said in his address at the first sitting of the fifth session of the 17th State Legislative Assembly at the DUN Complex.
Speaking publicly, Sarawak Governor and ex Chief Minister Taib stated very recently that 44% of Sarawakians still live in remote and undeveloped areas. Let’s call that 50% in view of his notorious looseness with statistics and figures of all kinds. That’s half the population!
This after over 30 years in sole control of all aspects of the government machine in the State? What an achievement! He failed to mention that a tiny percentage of the people had become enormously rich by stealing the assets of Sarawak for their personal gain; led from the front by Taib himself.
He has palaces, he rides in a Rolls, he has billions but what do the rural communities have? Maybe recently he has noticed the imminent collapse of a similar corrupt society in West Malaysia? Does he think he can prevent the same fate overtaking him?