Press Statement By Chong Chieng Jen:
It is most unwise of Abang Jo to put the future of the nation and State in jeopardy just because of his personal feeling against Lim Guan Eng.
Yesterday, in Miri Abang Jo revealed that GPS had decided to join PAS and UMNO to formthe Federal Government because of Lim Guan Eng’s so-called “insult” that Sarawak may be bankrupt in 3 years under GPS.
If that were the true reason for GPS to put PAS and UMNO in federal power, we Sarawakians should be very worried with Sarawak being governed by such leaders whom personal feelings reign over national public interest.
The PAS UMNO combination is the most toxic combination against the progress of the country. PAS well-known for its religious conservatism and to a great extend bigotry and UMNO has a proven track record of corruption and racism.
The recent announcements and policies have once again proven these undesirable traits of PAS UMNO, the introduction of Friday as Jawi day, the insult on Bible in Parliament, the proposed permanent closure of pubs, the segregation of genders in cinemas in Terengganu, the reduced allocation for Chinese schools and the renewed attack on vernacular schools as
cause of disunity among Malaysians.
On the aspect of governance, we also see the return of “Cash is King”, first with the increase of ministerial and deputy ministerial posts and the appointment of the Perikatan Nasional MPs to GLCs and Government Agencies as a reward to their loyalty to PN, the revival of direct-nego projects and in Kuching, even the revival of gaming outlets with jackpot machines.
On the other hand, what Lim Guan Eng, be it an insult on the Sarawak Government’s financial management, could also be taken as a warning against the extravagance of GPS’ proposed mega projects. Lim Guan Eng was not alone in sounding the warning. The ex-Finance Minister II, Wong Soon Koh, who has held that posts since 2011 also made similar remarks, warning that if GPS does not review its various mega projects, Sarawak’s financial position may be in dire state.
Though Abang Jo is constantly bragging about the RM31 billion reserves of Sarawak, what he did not highlight is the multi-billion debts owed by the Sarawak Government’s companies which the State had committed to repay with State fund.
Abang Jo and his GPS’ mistake for allowing their personal feelings to cloud over sensible thinking thereby putting UMNO and PAS in federal power has now threatened the secularism of the country and sooner or later, the religious freedom and racial harmony of Sarawak will be effected with the federal government turning to be more religiously conservative and even extreme.
6-9-2020
Chong Chieng Jen
DAP Sarawak Chairman
