KUCHING: Sarawakians must take stock and realise that “we have with us a really brave and dutiful chief minister”, said SUPP central working committee member Sim Kiang Chiok.
He pointed out that doing what is right for Sarawak needed courage after over 41 years of living under draconian emergency rules and the Internal Security Act, which lasted until 2011.
“The fear of being arrested under these laws is still very fresh in the minds of the people and has conditioned them not to do what is right for Sarawak.
“Even now we have a new draconian law that can be used to stop us from exercising our rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),” he said.
Sim, who is SUPP Stakan branch chairman, described Abang Johari as being brave for restoring and securing what rightly belongs to Sarawak.
“Many people take for granted the many things he has done for us Sarawakians probably because of his friendly and approachable mannerism.”
He pointed out that people tend forget that his (Abang Jo’s) first move as CM was to take back ownership of Bakun Hydro from the federal government at a very reasonable price.
“Otherwise the energy from Bakun would have been flowing to Malaya and every cent earned would have been for Malaya not Sarawak.
“He (Abang Johari) was clever enough to purchase Bakun for Sarawak from the Ministry of Finance incorporated for less than the cost of building it. It was his way of recouping some of the lost income for Sarawak all these years,” he added.
He went on to mention that Abang Johari was also quick to change the game in the timber industry when he increased the timber premium royalty from 50 cents to RM50 per ton and recently at the GPS convention he announced an increase to RM100 per ton.
“Abang Johari is clear that he wants to conserve our forests so he never approved new timber concessions and his move to increase the timber premium is one in keeping with his vision towards a green Sarawak. Even now we can see him going about his work in a hydrogen vehicle as his official car.”
Sim said in fact, Abang Johari’s braveness was evident when he decided that the state government coalition pulled out of the BN national coalition to form GPS.
The move to form GPS was to safeguard the future of Sarawak and to ensure that Sarawak would have political autonomy and never again be under the thumb of Malayan political parties, he added.
