KUCHING: Sarawak’s leadership and its remarkable progress has drawn both admiration and envy, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian.
He said it is therefore important that Sarawakians remain united in defending the state’s progress and aspirations.
“Every Sarawakian must take care of Sarawak. The Premier is so visionary, doing so much, and everyone looks up to us. But there are people who want to undermine us,” he said during the 2025 Media Night here on Friday (Jan 10).
Dr Sim, who is also Public Health, Housing, and Local Government Minister highlighted Sarawak’s RM15.8 billion budget for this year.
“Have you ever thought about the implications of Sarawak’s budget this year? One year of Sarawak’s budget is equivalent to 15 years of Penang’s. We started behind, but let me be clear, two years of Sarawak’s budget equals 30 years of Penang’s.
“One year of Sarawak (budget), right, is (equals) five years of Selangor. So don’t tell me that after four or five years, we cannot catch up with Selangor. We not only cannot catch up, we will overtake them.
“At the rate of one year’s Sarawak budget being 15 years of Penang, four years of Sarawak budget is 60 years of Penang. It will take Penang 60 years, but for us only four years. So, do you think these people are happy with us?”
This progress, he said, has attracted criticism from certain quarters with opportunistic politicians who claim that Sarawak is rich, but the people are poor.
“So I want every Sarawakian to realise our success provides an opportunity, but also that we are being threatened and this is natural.
“Do you know why everyone wants to be like Sarawak? Because the brand itself is good. And the Sarawak identity card (IC) has the letter ‘K’, while Sabah IC has ‘H’ – something the rest of Malaysia doesn’t have. We must protect that,” he said.
He said Sarawak’s progress can also be seen through the leadership of Premier Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg in terms of policies and including the implementation of the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
“This is about nation-building, creating a future that is prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable.
“But we must be careful and be aware of our threats and at the same time play our part to achieve success towards 2030,” he said.
He said with Sarawak’s increasing revenue, it would allow the state to implement more people-centric policies, such as providing free education and improved healthcare for all.
“As our revenue grows, we can look after our people better, ensuring a higher happiness index and a better quality of life,” he said.
