KUCHING: Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang expressed his disappointment with the cancellation of financial allocation for the development of Kpg Haji Baki.
“According to the plan, the previous government under Barisan Nasional (BN) has allocated RM1 million for the construction of a community hall and RM800,000 for hawker stalls in Kpg Haji Baki. However, the allocation of RM1.8 million has been cancelled after the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government took over,” he said when officiating at “Program Mesra Bersama Rakyat” at Kampung Haji Baki here, yesterday.
He added, “Sarawak produces oil worth RM250 million on a daily basis. In four days, we can get RM1 billion but the reality is that the profit goes to the federal government, so why is there a need to cancel the allocation of RM1.8 million?”
Lo also said that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders did not walk the talk because under the PH coalition before the general election, Democratic Action Party (DAP) leaders like Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Deputy Minister Chong Chieng Jen and Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong had actively fought for Sabah and Sarawak’s rights and claimed that there was no Malaysia without Sabah and Sarawak.
“In their infamous 100-day manifesto for the 14th General Elections (GE14), PH promised Sabah and Sarawak 20 per cent oil royalty and 50 per cent of tax revenue. It also promised to return full autonomy in education and healthcare,” he said.
Touching on the state’s healthcare, Lo said, “Fifty-five years after the formation of Malaysia, there is only one general hospital in Kuching. It never has enough beds for patients and they have to sleep uncomfortably during the hot spell.
“If autonomy is given to us, we can have better healthcare services. Apart from building more general hospitals like Malaya, we can also take the opportunity to develop the whole nation thoroughly.
“Despite the fact that the federal government did not give Sarawak a fair share, Sarawak is still fortunate because the people can still depend on the state government,” Lo said.
He also revealed that the state government had allocated RM2.7 billion for rural transformation projects.
“We already have street lights from Kpg Haji Baki to as far as Kpg Bunga Rampai, thanks to the state government,” he said.
Lo also mentioned that a discussion with Chief Minister Abang Johari Tun Openg on the building of a community hall and hawker stalls in Kpg Haji Baki had taken place.
“The planning for financial allocation is being prepared so that we can proceed with the projects. We cannot wait for the federal government,” he said.
Kpg Haji Baki has received a lot of financial allocations for its development. To date, the village was a part of Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) where RM1.5 million has been allocated to repair drains and roads.
In addition, there were also allocations of not less than RM100,000 for minor rural projects in the village and repair works on five football fields with each field costing around RM130,000. Some RM1 million was also allocated to help the needy villagers and to repair their houses.
“So far, we have repaired 34 houses in Batu Kitang constituency but that is not the end. The work of identifying poor houses is still ongoing and we will ensure no more houses need to be repaired in the next two or three years.
“This is all thanks to our chief minister who is a community-oriented person,” Lo said.
He also mentioned that Sarawakians should stay united and stand behind the leadership of Abang Johari to fight for Sarawak’s rights as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
The two-day event was organised by Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Women and Youth Wings; it started on Saturday and ended at 4pm yesterday.
The first day involved a karaoke competition (children and adult categories).
On the second day, a cooking competition, registration of new voters by the Election Commission (SPR) and free health screening by the Health Ministry were held.
Some 80 new voters of Kpg Haji Baki were registered at the event.
Lo also visited one of the houses in the village which had been repaired with an allocation of RM15,000 under the 2018 Minor Rural Project programme.
