BY AMYRA VARKISA & ALLAN JAY
SIBU: Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) promises to combat inflation and corruption, restore Sarawak’s rights, eradicate poverty and provide affordable housing in their manifesto for the upcoming 15th general election (GE15).
Its president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said these are among the promises that the party would deliver if they win the election.
He explained that the people’s lives are very difficult nowadays due to high inflation and the rising prices of goods and food items daily.
“I travel throughout the length and breadth of Sarawak, particularly in my own constituency and particularly in the rural areas, I can see that people’s life is really very difficult.
“So, as I say I like to quote president Xi Jinping who says people’s wish is for a better life is what the government should do.
“It is what the government should do first before embarking on mega projects, visionary projects and others,” he said in a press conference while launching the PSB manifesto at his service centre yesterday (Nov 6).
The Bawang Assan assemblyman noted that the government should try to meet the fundamental requirements and basic needs of the people in the first place such as electricity and water supply, road connectivity including bridges, and Internet coverage.
Hence, the Sibu parliamentary candidate pointed out that it should be made priority of every government in the world before embarking on visionary projects.
“Our Premier has talked about visionary projects such as Autonomous Rail Transit (ART), 5G or even 7G Internet coverage and hydrogen economy.
“These are good but these can come later. At this stage, they are not so practical and realistic and it would not benefit the masses,” he stressed.
He also noted that achieving high-income economy by 2030 and projected that the GDP growth of 8 per cent per annum is not realistic.
“Never in history has Sarawak achieved such a high growth rate. At the most, it is about 5.6 per cent if you look at the history. I was (previously) the State Minister of Finance and I know that at the most.
“On average, we only achieved three or four per cent. So, how can Sarawak leapfrog to eight per cent continuously until 2030,” he questioned.
Wong also shared that recently, petty traders at the Central Market had lamented about poor business.
He urged the government to come up with measures to help these small-time traders as well as SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to cushion the impact of inflation before talking about mega projects.
Meanwhile, on fighting corruption, PSB will focus on restoring transparency, integrity and accountability in all government systems.
“Because of corruption, foreign investors may not have confidence in our country, and that leads to the decline of foreign investments.
“If you look in the recent years compared with the ASEAN countries, Malaysia is the lowest among all the ASEAN countries as far as foreign direct investment is concerned, because they do not have confidence in our country, particularly with the unstable government,” he said.
Wong added that his party would also build more affordable houses for the people, particularly in reaching out to first-time house buyers.
“We will not forget about offering better prospects of life for youths and women. We will promote gender equality in all aspects of life and provide youths, both men and women, with greater education and employment opportunities to secure higher income,” he said.
