KUCHING: The decision made by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, that projects costing less than RM50 million be decided nearly entirely by the Sarawak government, must be thoroughly examined, said Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah
The Minister of Women, Children, and Community Wellbeing Development (KPWK) stated that comprehensive information on the subject is necessary to determine whether it is advantageous or not, particularly for her ministry.
“As of now, Sarawak has only been given projects worth less than RM50 million.
“So we need to know the particulars, one of which is the cost and how the project will be implemented.
“Aside from that, in terms of the tender, will the (tender) process be totally handed over to the Sarawak technical agency? Before we can comment, we need to examine the information,” she remarked.
This was said after she was being interviewed about Anwar’s decision by reporters during the handover ceremony of the permanent secretary of the Sarawak Ministry of Women, Children, and Community Welfare and the director of the Sarawak Social Welfare Department yesterday at Bangunan Baitul Makmur II.
Further, Fatimah urged that the decision should include the recognition of technical agencies in Sarawak so that they can carry out federal projects in the state.
She explained that the state government had urged that these issues be addressed so that Sarawak’s technical agencies, such as the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Sarawak (DID) could be recognised.
“It means that if they are acknowledged, they can work on federal initiatives, which is essentially what we’re asking for.”
