In CNY message, Taib urges all S’wakians to remain committed to state’s development

Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and wife, Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Ragad Kurdi Taib.

KUCHING (Feb 11): The future of Sarawak lies in the degree of people’s efficiency and continuous commitment to Sarawak as a preferred investment destination, said Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.

In this regard, he said in a special message today in conjunction with the Chinese New Year tomorrow that every Sarawakian has an important role to play to ensure Sarawak will achieve greater progress and prosperity towards the year 2030 and beyond.

“All of us must continue to be committed and determined to work harder towards achieving the development goals.

“The commitment from all levels of society will give us the strength to face the challenges ahead.

“In this regard, it is important for us to put in place two objectives namely to accelerate the economic growth and address the development gap with the priority to improve the livelihood of the people in rural areas.

“Basically, the task of developing the State does not rest with the Government alone,” said Taib.

The private sector, comprising big and small business enterprises, has to take this challenge and work together with the State Government to achieve the development agenda for common benefits, he said.

Taib said Chinese New Year 2021 is the year of the Ox and that people, who are born during the year of the ox, are said to be strong, reliable, fair and conscientious, inspiring confidence in other.

The are also calm, patient, methodical and can be trusted, he added.

Generally, they have the characteristics of being hard working and adaptable to different working environment, he said.

“Perhaps, the people of Sarawak should all be inspired by the characteristics of the Ox in pursuing for progress and advancement as we celebrate the Year of Ox.”

Generally people can take great pride that Sarawak has been able to achieve the present level of development as a result of the unity and harmonious relationship among the people and to manage the resources effectively despite facing many challenges along the way, he said.

Taib also said that after more than 50 years of Merdeka through Malaysia, Sarawakians have acquired the spirit of nationalism, which has enabled them to co-operate and work among together in serving the interests of the State and country.

This has become the basis to strengthen the unity and solidarity of the people without them realising that they are moving closer together to become more united and meaningful members of the Malaysian society, he said.

“For this reason, even though we are celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year, I do not only speak to the Chinese but all the people comprising about 30 ethnic groups, who all share the joy of the celebration.

“The Chinese also join the celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Gawai Dayak,” he said.

Taib cited a friend of his as an example of nationalism being instilled into Sarawakians.

“For example, an old friend of mine, my former classmate, accompanied me for holiday in Hong Kong.

“One day I heard him talking about Hong Kong Chinese being different from his. He talked about a Chinese even though he is Chinese. He admitted ‘Yes I am Chinese but a Malaysian Chinese.’ That is how they feel,” he said.

“We must consider ourselves fortunate that we can still celebrate our traditional festival in a new normal. But I believe our common feeling whether we are Chinese or Bumiputera, after 50 years of Independence, have changed a lot as compared to those in the early days.”

“For example, the Chinese, once regarded as foreigners, have become part of the community though they now can speak many dialects. Generally, they discover they are different the moment they go to places outside the state like Hong Kong,” he said

Through all these celebrations, the people can renew and strengthen the relationship that they have been able to build among the various ethnic groups in the State, said Taib.

This truly manifested the fact that the people during the last 50 years have mutual respect for each other and share the common desire to live in peace and harmony among them, he added.

Therefore, Sarawak has rightly earned a reputation as a peaceful State where people live in unity and harmony in spite of differences in ethnicity and religion, he said.

The State has truly embraced cultural diversity, unity and harmony, which has enabled the people to focus their time and energy towards development, he pointed out

“Obviously, conscientious efforts must be made to push Sarawak to a higher level of development phase. While we can be happy with our achievement, we must not rest on our laurels.”

“Instead, we must strive to do better and benchmark ourselves against the best in the world,” he added.
Taib said people are celebrating the Chinese New year 2021, the year of the Ox in a new normal unlike what they used to do quite strictly based on the traditions of getting together, seeking reunions and sharing the joy of the festival.

Touching on the Covid-19 pandemic, Taib said the state had taken necessary steps to curb the spread of the pandemic but the people must remain vigilant and adhere strictly to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), maintaining social distancing, washing hands regularly and avoiding crowded places, he said adding, the safest places now are homes.

“Certainly, we must all do our parts to keep ourselves safe from this deadly virus,” he said.

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