SIBU: Sibu MP Oscar Ling Chai Yew says the popularity of Sports Toto’s jackpot hitting the RM100 million mark has overshadowed even the house arrest issue of former prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
According to him, social media has been talking about the huge jackpot, with more people discussing it than the house arrest issue.
“So people are waiting for the opportunity to win a lifetime jackpot to change their lives. Everyone is enthusiastic, but they need to buy the Toto tickets within their ability and not overstretch themselves,” he said.
“Anyway, talking about the jackpot and waiting for an opportunity, I believe Sibu’s development needs to create opportunities for our people. It’s not only about infrastructure development, which is important for progress and development; we also need opportunities for young people to stay, earn a living, and succeed.
“For me, this is a complete development for Sibu, not just infrastructure, but also creating economic opportunities for our young people,” he told reporters after officiating at the presentation of Sports Toto Chinese New Year ang pows and mini hampers to underprivileged senior citizens at the Sibu Foochow Association, Salim Road, Saturday.
The event, which benefited 350 needy senior citizens, was organised by STM Lottery Sdn Bhd.
He noted that the event saw many elderly individuals receiving the Sports Toto contributions, and he believed that every household likely had at least one or two children who were not in Sibu but were working elsewhere to earn a living.
He opined that if Sibu wanted to develop, it needed to provide a place where young people can stay, and opportunities must be created for them too.
In this connection, he said the government needs to plan for Sibu economically so as to keep young people in the area to earn a living and be successful as well.
“I’ve been thinking about Sibu’s development and have challenged myself to consider the number of young people who have been successful and the number of entrepreneurs we have created so far.
He also pointed out that economic planning has been more focused on Kuching, Miri, and Bintulu, while Sibu lacked a comprehensive economic development plan.
“I think the state government has to look into this so that Sibu can also develop on par with other cities in Sarawak.
“We also need to create an ecosystem if we want young entrepreneurs to succeed and find markets for Sibu. We need to link the market internationally, not just within Sarawak, but to Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.
“We cannot confine ourselves; we need to source a bigger market for our industry players,” he said.
Economic planning, he said, should be undertaken for Sibu to attract international investors to come to Sibu.
“For instance, if we want to make Sibu an education hub in Sarawak, we need to show that it’s the right place for private education institutes or universities to set up their branches,” Ling added.
