KUCHING: It has yet to deliver its14th General Election (GE14) promises, but that does not stop Pakatan Harapan (PH) from making more promises.
PH Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, remembered for his GE14 promise to give Sarawak its 20 per cent oil and gas royalty and 50 per cent of all tax receipts made in the state if PH won Putrajaya, yesterday made yet another promise.
This time, he told folk of Kampung Selangan Batu they would get their land grants if PH won the next state election.
“The villagers have been residing here for over 30 years but they have no land grants for their houses.
“With no grants, it is difficult to apply for basic infrastructure such as tarred road because the villagers are residing on government land. The government cannot spend any allocation to repair infrastructure in the village,” he pointed out.
Chong added that even though PH had already taken over the federal government, land issues were under the state’s list.
“So we (the federal government) cannot do anything unless we take over the state government,” he said when officiating at a Chinese New Year gathering at Kampung Selangan Batu in Pending here yesterday.
He recalled that in 2006 until 2007, he directed a surveyor and an engineer to measure the small gravel and earth road in the village.
“On a steep slope, heavy vehicles would have a hard time to move up because it would be too slippery when it rained.
“So I requested a surveyor to measure the distance so that we could pave the roads in the village but the State Development Office told us that the village was under the Kuching South City Council (MBKS)’s jurisdiction.
“The MBKS, on the other hand, informed us that the village was located on government land and thus, no allocation could be given to implement the project,” he said.
However, he noted that prior to Sarawak state election in 2011 where Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian (now the Local Government and Housing Minister) was contesting the state seat, MBKS came to the village and paved all the roads.
“I welcomed the project but why politicise the basic infrastructure for the village?” he asked.
