Reactions to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Shared Prosperity Vision
SIBU: Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) president Munan Laja agrees with the Prime Minister’s views that more focus needed to be given on developing Sabah and Sarawak in line with the Shared Prosperity Vision policy.
Speaking at the Berambeh Bersatu Sarawak programme on Monday in Kuching, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said both states had not received enough attention compared to those in the Peninsular.
“We found that the previous government had not been giving its fullest attention to Sarawak. If we are to compare, then we are looking at an oil-rich Sarawak but yet development in the state is not equally distributed among Sarawakians themselves and also between Sarawak and Malaya,” he was quoted.
Munan, in his press statement issued yesterday, said the policy was a noble one which should be adopted by the state government also as there was a huge gap between the rich and poor in the country.
“The policy should be implemented from the day Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak gained independence from colonial rule. The wealth of the nation should be shared by its citizens and not just a handful.”
He cited the awarding of timber concessions as an example, adding that it only enriched certain people.
“In this Shared Prosperity Vision, we want mega projects that generate income that is shared among the people such as timber concessions, mineral and resources, dams, oil and gas.”
Munan said the national economic policy, which was implemented 35 years ago, had failed to achieve its target of allocating 30 per cent of the country’s wealth to the Bumiputras.
“We do not know the reason why it failed as there was no post-mortem.”
Munan said this time around, the government must ensure the implementation of this Share Prosperity Vision, using the right and effective formula or else it might fail like the NEP policy.
