KUCHING: Despite the not-so-kind weather, Chief Minister, Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Johari Tun Openg has encouraged Sarawakians to not let it dampen their spirits for this coming Chinese New Year.
“We are proud that Sarawak is a place where people can understand and respect each other and be able to live in a society where unity is of paramount importance to our common good and overall well-being.
“We have heard or seen a lot things happening in other parts of the country that only serves to divide and segregate the society along racial and religious lines.
“Some of those are happenings, like different washing machines for people with different beliefs, are plain ridiculous and not healthy at all for a diverse society like ours.
“Thank God, this has not happen in Sarawak and we pray Sarawakians will always live alongside each other as friends and willing to share and not dominate,” he said in a special Chinese New Year message which was issued yesterday.
On his predecessor, Abang Johari revealed that the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem had taken a lot of steps to ease the burden of the people.
With that, since coming into office, the current Chief Minister decided to further the steps by implementing policies to strengthen the state’s economy.
“Sarawak needs to be economically strong and be able to generate more revenue to finance its development towards the year 2030.
“No doubt we have yearly allocations from the federal government but considering the size of Sarawak, it is more often than not insufficient to fund programmes like development of infrastructures and utilities.
“For this reason, we have put in place various economic initiatives to invigorate our state economy with a view to turn Sarawak into a digital economy within the next two decades,” he said.
In his message, he noted that the Chinese community in Sarawak have a big role to play in the government’s effort to strengthen the state’s economy.
“All these while our Chinese business community have always been a major contributor to commerce, trade and industry in Sarawak.
“I trust that our Chinese friends will continue to support the government’s effort to strengthen our economic position with their resources, domestic and international influence and networking.
“ We are willing to listen to the needs of our business communities and take steps to increase the ease of doing business in Sarawak like doing away with red tapes and unnecessary procedures.
“A more robust domestic economy should be good news to our Chinese friends who are involved in many kinds of businesses and services.
“I am sure that our Chinese business community along with other communities will make the most of the opportunities, particularly in the services, construction, housing, tourism and food sectors,” he said.
Finally, he urged those who do not celebrate Chinese New Year to take the time to visit their relatives and friends during the festive season to strengthen the unity among the multi-cultural and multi-religious community.
“Let us continue to make Sarawak an example to other states,” he said in his message.
