The third session of the first term of the 19th State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting entered its sixth day on Tuesday (Nov 29) with the winding-up speeches by several state ministers.
The first to deliver his ministerial winding-up speech was Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn.
He expressed his gratitude to the state government for the 2023 budget allocation, particularly for the catalytic projects under the purview of his ministry.
“This includes the allocation of RM1 million for the teaching of science and mathematics and RM2 million to kick start the Sarawak Bio-industrial Park.
“Apart from that, RM20 million has been allocated for the Sarawak Science Centre; and RM20 million to kick start the Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre,” he said.
On the Yayasan Sarawak’s 30:30 Loan Repayment Incentives for National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan takers, Sagah said a total of 11,095 Sarawak graduates have benefited from the incentives since 2019, amounting to RM36.1 million.
“Sarawak is the only state in Malaysia to provide such an incentive, and another RM30 million has been approved for this incentive next year,” he said.
On autonomy matters, Sagah said he hoped that Sarawak would be given due consideration for autonomy over education.
“The autonomy so granted shall include matters of policy and execution. However, the federal government should continue to provide the required funding,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Datuk Julaihi Narawi highlighted that Sarawak’s rural electricity supply coverage has reached about 97.1 per cent.
He also said it was estimated that there are 11,700 households that still do not have electricity in rural areas.
“The state government aims to achieve 24-hour electricity supply coverage state-wide by 2025,” he said.
On another note, he said Sarawak will have 92 5G network stations ready and operational by the end of the year.
“This is among over 500 5G network stations being built in cities such as Kuching, Miri, Bintulu, and Sibu, with completion expected in stages by the end of next year,” he said.
He added the federal government was aggressively implementing 5G technology in Sarawak to realise digital economic transformation through Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB).
“The implementation of 5G in Sarawak began in the middle of this year with a total investment of RM1 billion over a 10-year period,” said Julaihi.
As for the water supply coverage in Sarawak, Julaihi said it has increased from 81.1 per cent to 83.7 per cent as of the second quarter of this year.
He said the coverage of water supply in the rural areas has increased from 61.9 per cent in 2018 to 67.2 per cent as of the second quarter of this year, and for urban areas, the coverage has reached 99 per cent.
Minister in the Premier’s Department Datuk John Sikie Tayai, in his ministerial winding-up speech said the Sarawak government is still in the midst of finalising the conditions, requirements and procedure needed before gazetting the amendment to the definition of ‘native’.
During last February’s DUN sitting, the Interpretation (Amendment) Bill 2022 was unanimously passed, which provides native status to children of mixed-marriage, where one parent is a native.
Meanwhile, the last to deliver his ministerial winding-up speech yesterday was Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin.
He revealed that Sibu will have its first direct connectivity to Singapore with AirAsia Berhad having its inaugural flight this Dec 16, serving the route with four flights weekly.
On another note, he said as of Jan until Sept this year, a total of 88,979 aircraft and 6,013,068 passenger movement was recorded in all Sarawak airports, and most of the flights and passengers came from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Johor Bahru, Penang, Kota Baharu, Labuan, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.
“For cargo, a total of 47,451 tonnes of cargo movement was recorded in all the state’s airports including STOLports from Jan to Sept 2022.
“Kuching has the most cargo movement with a total of 36,858 tonnes, followed by Miri with 6,013 tonnes, Sibu with 2,356 tonnes, Bintulu with 1,425 tonnes and the rest at the smaller airports and STOLPorts,” he said.
He added there are currently 35 international flights to Sarawak which are mostly from Singapore and Negara Brunei Darussalam, while as of Oct 31, there were 373 weekly Malaysia domestic flights which departed from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Johor Bahru, Penang, Kota Bahru and Labuan to Sarawak.
The DUN session will resume at 9 am tomorrow (30 Nov).
