State’s revenue in 2024 will increase from current year – Premier

KUCHING: With the state’s revenue for this year looking to surpass last year’s, Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg is confident that the numbers will be even higher for 2024.
 
“I will not give the figures (yet), but I can tell you it is more than 2022, and I believe that the revenue in 2024 will be even more than this year’s.
 
“Alhamdulillah, I have been your Chief Minister and Premier for only six years, and the revenue for Sarawak has doubled.
 
“Even the World Bank has recognised us as a high-income state,” he said.
 
He made these remarks when officiating at the Land and Survey Department’s Innovation and Integrity Day closing ceremony at the Pullman Hotel here last night (August 11).
 
Abang Johari said the next important task is to increase the livelihood of the people, especially those in rural areas.
 
Referring to the proverb ‘give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’, he said the only way to eradicate poverty is through education.
 
He also said it is important to disprove the misconception that Sarawak is a rich state but its people are poor, as this is not the reality.
 
“With our increased revenue, it is my dream to provide Sarawakians with free tertiary education at state-owned higher institutions of learning.
 
“When I was first appointed as the Chief Minister, I told Yayasan Sarawak to give bursaries and scholarships to whoever wishes to further their studies.
 
“Last time, the enrollment of Bumiputera students was low because they could not afford to pay for their tuition fees.
 
“I recently attended the University of Technology Sarawak’s (UTS) convocation ceremony, and I was pleased to see many Bumiputera students being conferred their scrolls,” he said.
 
At the same time, Abang Johari said Sarawak needs human capital in various disciplines that are relevant to the state’s economic ecosystem.
 
He said students’ placement in universities is governed by the Ministry of Higher Education’s University Entrance Unit (UPU), which often leaves students with courses that do not align with their interests.
 
“This is why we decided not to be tied down with UPU for our state-owned universities; we want students to choose whatever course that they are interested in,” he said.