There is a need to continue studying, researching and developing new innovative industries to create multiple sources of income, especially those aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals.
In his debate speech on the 2024 State Budget at the State Legislative Assembly sitting on Wednesday (Nov 22), Adam Yii (GPS-Pujut) stressed the importance of further diversifying income sources to boost the economy and achieve the targeted household income of RM15,000 per household in the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
He called for increased domestic and international studies and investments to achieve this goal.
On a related note, he highlighted Sarawak’s success in generating positive growth and becoming a recognised role model in the development of the green economy.
“Sarawak’s success has improved our reputation globally to be recognised as the green-hub in Asean.
“This potentially further attracts quality investments, partnerships, and collaborations from foreign countries, for example, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Singapore to provide clean energy and others.”
Although the state was recently recognised as a high-income state by the World Bank, Yii stressed the need to amplify efforts in talent development and the retention of talents.
He expressed appreciation for the continuous efforts of Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg in providing education aid and improving education quality in Sarawak, including the goal to provide free higher education in state-owned higher education institutions.
“Hopefully, in the near future under the extraordinary leadership of Premier, to regain the education autonomy so as to develop more quality local talents who are focused on being actual subject matter experts rather than adopting all the unnecessary political propagated issues.”
Addressing the significant income gap between urban and rural populations, Yii welcomed the effort to balance urban-rural development and achieve sustainable urban-rural integration as a top priority in the Bill.
“We can see in the Bill before us that the development in the rural areas does not only cover basic infrastructures, but it also includes numerous economic developments aimed at improving the livelihood of our fellow Sarawakians residing in rural areas.
“With proper education, implementation, and execution, coupled with the introduction of new mass crop technologies, it is evident that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government will not leave anyone behind in achieving this high household income goal,” he added.
