Sarawak must dare to ask what if …?

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By Michael Tiang

“We are very serious in setting up our own airline company; not a big one but enough to connect us to a few major and potential destinations,” said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg before the Chinese New Year.

This bold statement caused ripples for a few days in both mainstream and social media. The cynical sneered; the business minded questioned the viability, while the positive-minded were excited.

During a Chinese New Year dinner in 2017, I openly suggested during my speech that it was time for us to include Sarawak’s own airline company in our autonomy agenda. The reason was simply: “Enough is enough!” It isn’t a secret that Sarawak sorely needs sustainable air connectivity with international destinations in order to bring our local tourism and international trade to the next level.

” Ultimately, we should be working out plans to set up our own carrier. This is a timely move to stand on our own feet with the anticipation of greater revenues from our sales taxes on petroleum products as well as other recent ventures of the state. ”

As usual, a statement like that from a mere political secretary to the Chief Minister attracted various responses in the social media. Some sneered and reminded me that my boss, the Chief Minister who was then the Minister for Tourism in 2011, made clear that the state government had no interest in developing our own airlines.

Well, folk, it is an indisputable fact that the Sarawak government has been putting in all kinds of efforts to resolve air connectivity in this region for decades.

Abang Johari (as Minister for Tourism) had made clear that the government was looking at various alternatives to build our flight connectivity with certain international destinations without having our own airline company.

The closest proposal to having our own airline made by the state government in the past was offering to acquire MASwings, but the offer was turned down by the parent company, Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

Subsequently, Sarawak’s Tourism Ministry had gone the distance to establish direct flights from international destinations in Australia, Indonesia and China with various commercial airlines. There were even deals made for chartered flights from oversees to add to the alternatives.

Nevertheless, as rightly pointed out by Abang Johari recently, it was indeed very frustrating to see that these direct flights could not be sustained when the airline companies pulled the plug halfway. This forced our government and the tourism industry to go back to the drawing boards over and over again to work out new alternatives.

So back to enough is enough. Ultimately, we should be working out plans to set up our own carrier. This is a timely move to stand on our own feet with the anticipation of greater revenues from our sales taxes on petroleum products as well as other recent ventures of the state.

There would be no meaning if we keep talking about our autonomy and sovereignty if we don’t know what to do with it for the interest of our state. We need to move on by starting to challenge ourselves to cast more visions for the future of Sarawak, and setting up our own airline company is a much needed vision that all Sarawakians should dare to embrace.

Indeed there won’t be much future if we don’t talk about our visions. And if visions are without actions, they are mere daydreams.

As the Chief Minister, it is Abang Johari’s job to have visions for Sarawak, and in so doing, he has a duty to take the lead and inspire Sarawakians to be more courageous to ask, “What if?” while challenging the status quo.