KUCHING: Orang Ulu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OUCCI) is firmly convinced and hopeful that Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg will deliver a sterling performance during his stewardship of Sarawak over the next six years.
In congratulating and celebrating the sixth anniversary of the Premier, OUCCI president Datuk Mutang Tagal said Abang Johari had ably managed Sarawak with a firm and steady hand.
He pointed out that the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 would ensure Sarawak’s monthly household income reaches RM15,000 and that Sarawak’s economy grows to RM282bil.
“Sarawak will become a developed and high-income country,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
Mutang also noted that Premier was bold and courageous by making Sarawak a powerhouse in green, clean, sustainable, and renewable energy.
This, he said, would be realised through the planned and systematic development of hydropower, hydrogen energy, solar energy, and biomass.
He added that Sarawak’s huge hydro dams, oil palm wastes, and carbon credit trading from the vast natural forests and land would provide lots of business opportunities.
On the same note, OUCCI commended the Premier for being bold in taking “the road less travelled” in getting Sarawak to venture into new technologies of hydrogen energy production and carbon credit trading as well as amending existing Sarawak laws to provide legality to these new sources of green and renewable energy.
By 2027, Mutang asserted that Sarawak would produce 220,000 tonnes of green hydrogen from its first hydrogen plant.
Meanwhile, he said the launch of a massive construction of digital infrastructure prepared Sarawak to be a digital economy practitioner and the upgrading of businesses for e-commerce participation.
“The rollout of these projects has benefitted small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sarawak involved in technology, telecommunications, and e-commerce.
“Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) will continue to rise as the Premier adopts business-friendly policies such as providing ample green energy for industries, generous tax breaks, the provision of economic exclusive zones (EEZ), excellent port facilities, a good and efficient transport network by land, sea, and air, competitive tariffs on the import and export of products and materials, and an ample source of technical and professional manpower.
“The likes of Samsung, POSCO, LOTTE Group, Hyundai of South Korea, and other foreign companies will provide business and employment opportunities to Sarawak’s businesses.”
The Premier’s vision and farsightedness in technical and tertiary education allowed Sarawak to own its own universities and technical colleges such as Curtin, Swinburne, UCTS, CENTEXS, and others.
As such, Mutang said the business community would be able to recruit young, trained people from these universities to run their businesses.
As a futuristic, visionary, and responsible guardian of Sarawak’s resources, he said the establishment of the Sarawak Sovereign Wealth Future Fund Board ensured that Sarawak’s surplus capital reserves are wisely invested for the benefit of future generations of Sarawakians.
This, Mutang said would ensure that Sarawak continue to have the revenue and cash to develop its economy and people as revenues from oil and gas continue to decline.
For this reason, he thanked the Premier for his generous financial grant of RM10mil as seed capital for OUCCI’s development.
He added that other business chambers and associations had also benefitted from financial grants from Sarawak, demonstrating the Premier’s concern for the interests of all communities.
