Tuan Speaker, Thank you for giving me this opportunity to participate in
the appreciation motion on the speech of his Excellency Tuan Yang Terutama Yang
Di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak.
There are few issues that I want to rise in this August house here.
Business opportunity for Sarawak based companies in Oil & Gas Industries in Miri are becoming very scarce.
Tuan Speaker, Shell in Miri has awarded a total contracts worth RM24.0 billion on the year 2008, 2009 and 2010. Out of these contracts, only RM4.8 billion worth of contracts were awarded to Sarawak based companies, the contracts worth RM19.2 billion were awarded to Non-Sarawak based companies. In average, RM1.6 billion a year which is only equivalent to 20% of the contracts for Sarawak based companies, but RM6.4 billion annually which is equivalent to 80% of the contracts is going to Non-Sarawak based companies.
Moreover, Tuan Speaker, on the same year, Petronas in Miri has awarded a total contracts worth RM64.0 billion. Only 9% which is approximately equal to RM5.8 billion is awarded to Sarawak based companies. Whereas our West Malaysian counterpart has been awarded nearly 91% out of the contracts which is worth RM58.2 billion by Petronas Miri on the year 2008, 2009 and 2010.
This natural resource is derived from our beloved Sarawak, only 5% of the loyalty is given to the state government. 95% of the loyalty is going to Federal Government. This is already very unfair to our Sarawakians. Sarawakians have been ignored by our Federal Government for so long. Our business opportunity is being deprived now. Sarawakians can only get 10% to 20% of the business opportunity in Oil and Gas Industries in Miri. Up to 90% are deprived by non-Sarawak based companies. Sarawak will be more marginalized by this act.
Tuan Speaker, the contracts awarded to Non-sarawak based company are subsequently sub-contracted to local companies, and eventually the local companies could hardly earn any profit from these contracts. In some of the worse cases, the local sub-contractors are unable to collect payment from the main contractors and thus causing them to suffer financial difficulties.
Tuan Speaker, these natural resources are derived from our beloved Sarawak and should be managed by us, Sarawakians. Our Sarawakians must be the main players in the Oil and Gas Industries. More business opportunity for Mirian and Sarawakians means more jobs opportunities as well as a better economy for Sarawakians. Should our state government form a policy to make sure that Sarawak based companies have higher priority in Oil & Gas Industries in Miri?
There are few issues that I want to rise in this August house here.
Business opportunity for Sarawak based companies in Oil & Gas Industries in Miri are becoming very scarce.
Tuan Speaker, Shell in Miri has awarded a total contracts worth RM24.0 billion on the year 2008, 2009 and 2010. Out of these contracts, only RM4.8 billion worth of contracts were awarded to Sarawak based companies, the contracts worth RM19.2 billion were awarded to Non-Sarawak based companies. In average, RM1.6 billion a year which is only equivalent to 20% of the contracts for Sarawak based companies, but RM6.4 billion annually which is equivalent to 80% of the contracts is going to Non-Sarawak based companies.
Moreover, Tuan Speaker, on the same year, Petronas in Miri has awarded a total contracts worth RM64.0 billion. Only 9% which is approximately equal to RM5.8 billion is awarded to Sarawak based companies. Whereas our West Malaysian counterpart has been awarded nearly 91% out of the contracts which is worth RM58.2 billion by Petronas Miri on the year 2008, 2009 and 2010.
This natural resource is derived from our beloved Sarawak, only 5% of the loyalty is given to the state government. 95% of the loyalty is going to Federal Government. This is already very unfair to our Sarawakians. Sarawakians have been ignored by our Federal Government for so long. Our business opportunity is being deprived now. Sarawakians can only get 10% to 20% of the business opportunity in Oil and Gas Industries in Miri. Up to 90% are deprived by non-Sarawak based companies. Sarawak will be more marginalized by this act.
Tuan Speaker, the contracts awarded to Non-sarawak based company are subsequently sub-contracted to local companies, and eventually the local companies could hardly earn any profit from these contracts. In some of the worse cases, the local sub-contractors are unable to collect payment from the main contractors and thus causing them to suffer financial difficulties.
Tuan Speaker, these natural resources are derived from our beloved Sarawak and should be managed by us, Sarawakians. Our Sarawakians must be the main players in the Oil and Gas Industries. More business opportunity for Mirian and Sarawakians means more jobs opportunities as well as a better economy for Sarawakians. Should our state government form a policy to make sure that Sarawak based companies have higher priority in Oil & Gas Industries in Miri?
Enhance Transparency in local council
Tuan Speaker, in the
year of 2011, I received complaints from the public about the road sweeper
service. The public complained that the road sweeper contractor made a claim of
about RM18,000 to RM19,000 per month and yet did not provide proper service.
One day, I was informed that service order was issued by Miri City Council to
instruct the contractor to perform their duty on the particular days. However,
I discovered that the road sweeper vehicle did not carry out its duty and was
parked at the warehouse on those particular days. The brushes of the road
sweeper vehicle were totally worn out and apparently unable to perform its work
properly. I took a photo as evidence on those days. After checking with my
sources, I confirmed that Miri City Council made payments to the contractor
that without carrying the duty. On the beginning of December 2011, I reported
this matter to MACC (Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia) in Miri. The next
day, the worn out brushes of the particular road sweeper vehicle were replaced
by new brushes. Few weeks later, it seemed that neither investigation nor
action has been taken by MACC, I went to Miri City Council to see the Mayor and
the city secretary with my special assistant and check the service record with
them. Then, I confirmed that the contractor had made a claim on those
particular days the service order had been issued but the duty was not carried
out.
Tuan Speaker, I showed the photo of the malfunction road sweeper vehicle to the Mayor and City Secretary and urged them to take further action. The Mayor and city secretary like an innocent persons as if knowing nothing about what I was saying even I showed the malfunction road sweeper picture to them, then, the Mayor and the City Secretary requested us to write in. On the beginning of Jan 2012, we wrote in a letter to MCC, however there was no reply at all.
On 20/03/2012, after I disclosed this matter to the press, the contractor brought a few gangsters to my office to threaten me. The contractor even shouted at me saying that: “Why you keep on disturbing my business? You better watch out!” I lodged a police report immediately after that incident happened.
Tuan Speaker, threatening a state Assembly Man in the course of his duties is a serious matter. If the above contractor has a clear conscience, why should he threaten me? If the business / contract between MCC and the contractor are clear and transparent, how could I then have influence on this matter? Can the government tolerate someone who attempts to rig the law?
Tuan Speaker, in the press on the date 06/05/2011, our Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyidin Yassin urged co-operation of all parties towards making integrity a habit. He said, this would surely enhance the country’s dignity. He claimed that the struggle to attain integrity for any government ---- fighting corruption should be the most important ‘Jihad’.
If the government is
really serious in tackling corruption, investigation and immediate action
should be taken on the above matter. Transparency is one of the ways to prevent
corruption, hopefully the government would instruct the local council to
co-operated and pay a supporting role with the opposition parties and the public
in future.
Public Transportation In Miri
Prices of vehicles and fuel becoming higher and higher nowadays. Having a vehicle has become a big burden to the poor and therefore public transportation is very important means of transport for the low income group in Miri.
At present, bus is the main public transportation in Miri. The bus companies are facing a situation where fuel prices and running cost are high, thus they increased their fares to cover cost. Due to the decline of bus passengers, the bus companies are suffering losses, eventually they have no alternative but were forced to terminate certain bus service lines.
Tuan Speaker, may I suggest that our State Government provide subsidy to the bus companies in Miri?
Penang State Government has been providing subsidy to their bus companies , thus the bus companies can provide FREE service to the public in certain bus service lines to encourage public to make use of the public transport instead of driving own vehicles. As a result, not only traffic congestion is reduced, public of Penang save unnecessary expenses on vehicles fuel consumption, and at the same time, the federal government avoid paying unnecessary fuel subsidy due to this policy implemented by the Penang State Government.
Tuan Speaker, Sarawak Government's revenue is huge, nearly 10 times more than Penang State Government; moreover our Sarawak Government has a surplus in every year. If the Penang State Government can provide FREE bus services, I can't see why subsidy cannot be given by our Sarawak state Government to the bus companies in Miri.
Moreover, our Sarawak Government should provide better facilities; for example, every bus stop in Miri should have a shelter, safety of the passengers should be well taking care of. The police should patrol regularly at Tudan, Desa Indah area, and elsewhere when the passengers return home by bus, make sure they can go back home safely after using a bus. If the number of passengers using bus increases, the bus companies profit will increase too. Therefore leading to better bus service.
If the State Government cannot provide the above-mentioned issues in a very short period, at least the government should organise a dialogue form to seek a resolution with the bus companies. This is also the will of the bus companies.
Kuala Baram Road lighting
Tuan Speaker, Kuala Baram Road has no lighting although there are many lamp posts along the road. People have been complaining over and over again since 5 years ago but no further action has been taken. The road users are in dangerous situation while driving in the dark. A few fatal accidents had occurred along this road. Public are just wondering on why there are many lamp posts built along this road but no lighting at night. Is there no government agencies that are willing to be responsible for the electrical bill? Or are these lamp posts built only for decoration purpose? Or there are some other reasons behind it?
Tudan Road need to be upgraded urgently
Tuan Speaker, due to the rapidly increasing of population of housing in Tudan area, Tudan road become an extremely congested road right now. The road was overloaded because it is a narrow road with only 2 lanes.
The residents of Tudan have to go out from their houses as early as 6:00am in order to reach their office at 8:00am. The traffic is almost jam on the road for more than 1 hour even though it is only about 3km of the road.
Because there are no concrete drainage system built along the Tudan road, soil erosion along this road has caused no road shoulder for those vehicles to avert, when the accidents happen, almost all of the vehicles will rush into the big deep drains at the road side. Thus, there is an urgent need for our government to improve the road condition there and it is better to upgrade it into 4 way lanes.
Traffic congestion in front of SJK Krokop Miri due to lack of parking space
Tuan speaker, the government should try its best to provide as much parking space as possible so as to alleviate the traffic congestion in front of SJK Krokop Miri. Public would be furious if traffic police issue summons to them because there is insufficient parking space for them to park their car. The drain at the opposite side of the road in front of the school could be covered up and served as parking space. The government can make full use of the vacant land beside the school (at the right side of the school) as a small car park. The more parking spaces provided, the less pressure the police traffic will be facing when they perform their duties.
General Hospital in Miri
Prices of vehicles and fuel becoming higher and higher nowadays. Having a vehicle has become a big burden to the poor and therefore public transportation is very important means of transport for the low income group in Miri.
At present, bus is the main public transportation in Miri. The bus companies are facing a situation where fuel prices and running cost are high, thus they increased their fares to cover cost. Due to the decline of bus passengers, the bus companies are suffering losses, eventually they have no alternative but were forced to terminate certain bus service lines.
Tuan Speaker, may I suggest that our State Government provide subsidy to the bus companies in Miri?
Penang State Government has been providing subsidy to their bus companies , thus the bus companies can provide FREE service to the public in certain bus service lines to encourage public to make use of the public transport instead of driving own vehicles. As a result, not only traffic congestion is reduced, public of Penang save unnecessary expenses on vehicles fuel consumption, and at the same time, the federal government avoid paying unnecessary fuel subsidy due to this policy implemented by the Penang State Government.
Tuan Speaker, Sarawak Government's revenue is huge, nearly 10 times more than Penang State Government; moreover our Sarawak Government has a surplus in every year. If the Penang State Government can provide FREE bus services, I can't see why subsidy cannot be given by our Sarawak state Government to the bus companies in Miri.
Moreover, our Sarawak Government should provide better facilities; for example, every bus stop in Miri should have a shelter, safety of the passengers should be well taking care of. The police should patrol regularly at Tudan, Desa Indah area, and elsewhere when the passengers return home by bus, make sure they can go back home safely after using a bus. If the number of passengers using bus increases, the bus companies profit will increase too. Therefore leading to better bus service.
If the State Government cannot provide the above-mentioned issues in a very short period, at least the government should organise a dialogue form to seek a resolution with the bus companies. This is also the will of the bus companies.
Kuala Baram Road lighting
Tuan Speaker, Kuala Baram Road has no lighting although there are many lamp posts along the road. People have been complaining over and over again since 5 years ago but no further action has been taken. The road users are in dangerous situation while driving in the dark. A few fatal accidents had occurred along this road. Public are just wondering on why there are many lamp posts built along this road but no lighting at night. Is there no government agencies that are willing to be responsible for the electrical bill? Or are these lamp posts built only for decoration purpose? Or there are some other reasons behind it?
Tudan Road need to be upgraded urgently
Tuan Speaker, due to the rapidly increasing of population of housing in Tudan area, Tudan road become an extremely congested road right now. The road was overloaded because it is a narrow road with only 2 lanes.
The residents of Tudan have to go out from their houses as early as 6:00am in order to reach their office at 8:00am. The traffic is almost jam on the road for more than 1 hour even though it is only about 3km of the road.
Because there are no concrete drainage system built along the Tudan road, soil erosion along this road has caused no road shoulder for those vehicles to avert, when the accidents happen, almost all of the vehicles will rush into the big deep drains at the road side. Thus, there is an urgent need for our government to improve the road condition there and it is better to upgrade it into 4 way lanes.
Traffic congestion in front of SJK Krokop Miri due to lack of parking space
Tuan speaker, the government should try its best to provide as much parking space as possible so as to alleviate the traffic congestion in front of SJK Krokop Miri. Public would be furious if traffic police issue summons to them because there is insufficient parking space for them to park their car. The drain at the opposite side of the road in front of the school could be covered up and served as parking space. The government can make full use of the vacant land beside the school (at the right side of the school) as a small car park. The more parking spaces provided, the less pressure the police traffic will be facing when they perform their duties.
General Hospital in Miri
Tuan Speaker,
regarding the question that I asked during the last DUN sitting in November
2011 on the amount of fund allocated for Miri General Hospital in the past 3
years, I received the reply from DUN saying that Miri General Hospital received
an average amount of fund in the sum of RM64 millions per year over the past 3
years. On this, I hope the relevant Minister can further inform on how is the
fund of RM64 millions being utilized or spent by Miri General Hospital and
whether it is spent or utilized for the payment of the hospital’s expenses like
salaries for doctors, nurses and admin staffs, purchasing hospital’s equipments
and medicine or drugs only. If it is not, what else is it spent or utilized
for?
We hope to know
whether RM64 millions is sufficient for Miri General Hospital and whether it
has been used to the fullest so as to provide quality medical services and
facilities that a city should have.
The Difficulties Of People In Lawas And Limbang
Tuan Speaker, The border of Lawas to Sabah is closed at 10 p.m. every night. Lawas becomes a totally isolated town. As everyone knows, there is only a very old hospital in Lawas left from the colonial era. When the patients in Lawas face critical situation at night, they need to be sent immediately to a hospital with better facilities. The nearest one is in Kota Kinabalu. Due to the border being closed after 10pm, the patients cannot be sent to KK in this case. Thus, many lives have been lost in this situation.
Tuan Speaker, while the slogan of 1 Malaysia is chanted all over the nation, there are still many places showing that there is NO 1 Malaysia. Sarawak and Sabah, we are all in the same country. The Lawas people are just wondering why the border gate has to be closed after 10 p.m.? When the residents are facing critical situation, the only thing they can do is waiting to die. Aren’t there a better solution?
We have independence for nearly half a century, why our government still cannot built a new hospital with good facilities, sufficient doctor and personel in Lawas and Limbang. Both of these towns are actually facing similar situation, when the border gate is closed, there are becoming isolated town. Tuan Speaker, a link road between Lawas-Limbang-Miri should be built since our State Government has a surplus every year.
Tuan Speaker, Lawas is facing irregularity of water supply. Some businesses and people daily lives were disturbed. People in Lawas are full of anger. Anyway, there is a water treatment plant being built in Lawas since long time ago but the project is not completed until now. The Lawas people are just wondering .... “Why”..? It is a shame that even running water is difficult to get in this area after independent for nearly half a century.
Tuan Speaker, with that I concluded my speech. Thank you very much.
