The Federal Government will continue to work with the Sarawak government to develop the state

Abang Jo: PM has given assurance of cooperation

Monday, 16 Jul 2018
by sharon ling

Moving forward: Abang Johari said that Dr Mahathir also offered development suggestions during the briefing at Wisma Bapa Malaysia.


KUCHING: The Federal Govern-ment will continue to work with the Sarawak government to develop the state although it is ruled by a separate political coalition, says Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said this assurance was conveyed to him by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad during a briefing here yesterday.


“We had the opportunity to brief the Prime Minister on our development.

“He was happy with our achievements and we will work together although we are in different political parties.


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Dr Mahathir earlier attended a closed-door briefing on Sarawak’s development with Abang Johari and state Cabinet members at Wisma Bapa Malaysia.

The state government is led by Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), an independent state-based coalition formed by Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) after they quit Barisan Nasional on June 12.

GPS has said it will be friendly to the Federal Government but will not join Pakatan Harapan.

Abang Johari also said Dr Mahathir congratulated the state government on its success in developing the state.

“He offered a few suggestions on our development agenda and he was quite surprised to see the development in Kuching,” he said.

At a press conference after the briefing, Dr Mahathir said Sarawak had the potential to develop its rivers and other natural assets for further growth.

“Rivers are always an asset. Land is still big in Sarawak because the population is quite small.

“Development of land is now subject to environmental consideration. But for rivers, we can make use of them for many things such as transportation and the generation of power.

“From the briefing, there is potential for Sarawak’s growth. It all depends on how you make use of the assets you have,” he said.

On the federal-state relations, Dr Mahathir said the cooperation between Sarawak and the Federal Government had been good.

Dr Mahathir, who arrived here on Saturday for several closed-door events, was making his first visit to the state since becoming Prime Minister a second time after GE14.

“I have not come to Sarawak for quite some time. The last time I came, it was at night so I could not see much.

“This time I arrived in the daytime and I noticed that Kuching has changed and grown bigger, which is an indication of Sarawak’s progress,” he said.


Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/07/16/abang-jo-pm-has-given-assurance-of-cooperation-no-issue-on-political-difference-abang-jo-pm-has-give/#cF1vDbBLdgC0twwH.99