Better state-federal relations a boon for S’wak devt, says Mustapa

Mustapa (middle) addresses the press conference as Ismawi (left) and Abang Karim look on.

KUCHING: Sarawak government under the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg is commended for being able to handle economic challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed who said this, pointed out that Sarawak has very good potential for growth.

With the state-federal ties now back to better terms since Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) joined to help form the new federal government, he was confident that Sarawak would achieve greater development and this would directly benefit the whole nation of Malaysia as well.

“Cooperation is no more an issue now between both state and federal, in fact the cooperation is closer now.

“With four full ministers from Sarawak led by Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof as the Senior Minister for infrastructure sector, we are confident this good cooperation will greatly benefit and bring more development to Sarawak,” he told a press conference after chairing a dialogue session with Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda) and local business community at a leading hotel here today.

Mustapa also said he met with Chief Minister, the state’s three Deputy Chief Ministers and the State Secretary last night to discuss on the state’s development matters as input for the proposed 12th Malaysian Plan (12MP) which is currently being drafted.

He pointed out that Sarawak government had expressed the need to improve digital infrastructure during the meeting.

“We had a thorough discussion on development matters in Sarawak particularly infrastructure matters. Digital infrastructure and environmental sustainability – these are the two pillars of Sarawak economy,” he said.

He also said they also discussed on the big potentials of border trade when Indonesia move its capital city from Jakarta to East Kalimantan, as well as on the increased investments from Japanese and Chinese companies in the manufacturing sector in the state.

“The issue is border our borders are not open yet. Businesses need the international borders to open. But look at what had happened at some countries where there are second wave (of Covid-19 infection) and we need to avoid that”.

On today’s dialogue, he said digital infrastructure was also one of the matters brought up and there were also discussion on issues related to loan moratorium, and issues faced in the construction sector particularly those housing developers.

“This dialogue was to get perspective from Sarawak. The economic situation now is still challenging, but there are now signs of economic recovery, while the unemployment rate as of May is at 5.3 percent. And we expect that in July, the economy will recover further.

“Badly affected are tourism and services sector including professional services. The retail sector is also affected.

“Three main sectors are doing okay namely manufacturing, agriculture and construction especially government construction. The private sector construction is still struggling because of poor demand,” he said, adding input from the dialogue will be further discussed in the National Economic Action Council in which he is in the secretariat.

Mustapa also praised Sarawak for its own initiatives in providing financial assistance through Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS) package where a total RM2.5 billion is being spent to assist the people during the Movement Control Order (MCO) especially those in the B40 and the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Also present at the dialogue and joining Mustapa at the press conference were Recoda chief executive officer Datu Ismawi Ismuni and Sarawak Business Federation (SBF) president Datuk Abang Karim Tun Openg.

Recoda in a press release said Ismawi moderated the dialogue, which was participated by more than 70 people representing the business community in Sarawak.

It also said the dialogue was a very engaging session with various issues concerning economy were raised by those present.

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