KUCHING: Most Sarawakians will agree that the setting up of a Sovereign Wealth Future Fund is a great way of saving for the future generation, said Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Stakan Chairman Datuk Sim Kiang Chiok.

“The initial set-up fund of RM8 billion is commendable (which is about RM3,300 per population of 2.4 mil) with another 20 years of annual funding which adds to another RM10.45 bil,” he said.

“With the earning of the Sovereign Fund, we are allowed to fund Sarawakians on their tertiary education, improve our standard of living, human capital development and any other purpose as proposed by the State Cabinet and approved by the DUN (State Legislative Assembly),” he said.

Sim also said the 11 strategic thrusts under Budget 2023 comprehensively covers Sarawak government’s goal of working towards an inclusive, prosperous and harmonious society.

“There is a RM52 million affordable housing allocation with RM40 mil Housing Deposit and Repayment Assistance Scheme (HDRAS) for first time house buyers.

“Smart City projects in Kuching and Miri will have RM48mil to implement and improve the traffic flow, better security with smart closed-circuit television (CCTV), refuse collection monitoring, smart bus scheduling ,even early flood warning system and other smart features.

“And a budget of RM3 mil for a comprehensive study on Sarawak Climate Change Policy, Low Carbon Cities Blueprint and Sarawak Green Economy policy and action plans are much welcome to help us plan ahead the sustainable development of our state,” he said in a statement on yesterday (Nov 23).

He said with RM1.12 billion to improve utilities, this will bring the state to move forward with more roads, bridges and utilities.

Sim said the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are also being helped with a funding of RM14 million, RM7 million for graduates and RM5 million for the Go Digital Programme.

“This will push forward our SMEs and help some sectors to further recover from the Covid-19 pandemic slowdown,” he emphasised.

Sim also applauded the budget of RM10 million to set up the Sarawak Trade and Tourism Office Singapore (STATOS) in Brunei and Pontianak to bring trade to the neighbouring countries.

“This will help increase our business and trade and we look forward to opening another STATOS in China soon,” he added.

With much allocation for the economy and infrastructure development, he said the budget also reflects the state government’s caring and inclusive effort for the underprivileged.

“We hope the new Federal government will answer the call by our Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg to increase the development fund for Sarawak to 10 per cent of the federal development budget which will help speed up our state’s ambition to be fully developed by 2030,” he said.