Salam Ibu Pertiwiku and welcome to my office website.
Praise and thanks be to Allah SWT for only by His grace and providence that I am able to helm Sarawak as its sixth Chief Minister for the past two years since 13th January 2017. I wish to thank the people of Sarawak from all walks of life for their trust and support given to me in our continuous pursuit of transformation towards a digitally advanced economy by the year 2030 and beyond.
Since coming into office, sixty-five (65) initiatives and actions have been introduced and taken to expedite Sarawak’s development within the two remaining years of the 11th Malaysia Plan period. Budget 2019 at RM10.5 billion is Sarawak’s biggest budget so far in Sarawak’s history and out of this RM6 billions are allocated for people-centric projects which are now in various stages of implementation. These projects are mainly in infrastructure, water and electricity supplies. We are able to carry out more projects for the benefit of the people in 2019 because now we are imposing a 5% sales tax on petroleum and gas-based products for export. This is Sarawak’s right under the Federal Constitution.
Malaysia’s political landscape has changed after General Election 14 (GE14) but our stance that the eroded power under the Federal Constitution and Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63) must be returned to the people of Sarawak has not changed. There is an ongoing negotiation with the Federal Government on the restoration of the lost rights and we are now able to present our case with greater assertiveness due to our “political independence”.
I strongly believe that the aspiration of all Sarawakians is to build an economically advanced and politically strong Sarawak. While we subscribe to the concept of a federation within Malaysia and all that goes to make Malaysia strong, Sarawak must move forward to achieve a developed status on its own strength and the unity of its people with the motto of “Sarawak First” as our guiding principle.
This website shall include articles, pictures, videos, my public speeches as well as news and updates on Sarawak. I sincerely hope that it can provide you with the information that you may need and I welcome comments and critiques to make it better.
Thank you and happy surfing. Sincerely,
Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari Bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg
Chief Minister of Sarawak
Assalamualaikum, Selamat Datang and welcome to my office website.
Praise and thanks be to Allah SWT for by His grace and providence that I am able to helm the State as its fifth Chief Minister. Please allow me to thank the people of Sarawak for their support towards me as Chief Minister for all Sarawakians regardless of our religious beliefs, racial backgrounds and political inclinations.
I will continue to pursue the sound economic development policies that have been set by my predecessor, the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) programme in particular, in order to transform Sarawak into a high income and developed State by the year 2020.
Equally important, we are putting tremendous efforts to create a trustworthy government that is free from corruption. We have made some success in weeding out corruption in the timber industries and cyber gambling. There will be no let up until we can completely wipe out corruption and instil a culture of integrity and the “fear of God” in the civil service.
Sarawak’s economy is strong with a substantial reserves and favourable credit ratings but we want to increase the government’s revenue by way of increased oil and gas royalty and participation in the oil and gas industries. We need more funds to expedite the Sarawak’s development, especially in the rural areas. This year the State Government will be spending an additional of RM500 million to provide more facilities and amenities in areas far from our cities and main towns. Our development policy is very much rural-biased as the rural areas, being much less developed, need more of our attention than urban areas.
We shall continue to enhance our racial unity according to the unique model that we have been nurturing all these whiles that is based on respect towards each other’s religious beliefs and culture. We maintain our firm stand not to allow outside elements to sow seeds of discord among our people as no one stands to gain from disunity and divisiveness.
We will also continue to listen to the voices of our people and work for their benefits. We have reduced electricity rates for domestic and commercial consumers. We have abolished tolls on bridges and all ferry charges are standardised to RM1 only.To further soften the impact of rising cost of living, we have decided that the State Government absorbs GST imposed on all local council services.We are looking forward to do more for the benefits of the people in the next five years.
To provide you with information that you may need, this site includes an archive of articles and publications as well as latest news about Sarawak. You can read my speeches delivered at various occasions in and outside Sarawak that should provide you the overall picture of what we have done for Sarawak and its people since I first assumed office.
I welcome your comments and critiques and sincerely hope that this website can assist you with information that you may need so that we can work together to make a better Sarawak for all of us.
