Abang Johari Tun Openg
KUCHING (March 23): There will be no toll charges for all bridges in the state, as per the wishes of the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg today.
“There will be no toll for all bridges along our coastal road. There will be no more ferry, and also no toll.
“This is what GPS has fulfilled,” he told a press conference after officiating the ground-breaking ceremony of the Batang Lupar Bridge project.
He revealed that the cost of all the bridges along the coastal roads are borne by the state, except for the Sadong and Samarahan bridges, which were borne by the federal government under Barisan Nasional.
“The rest are borne by the state right up to Miri, and then because of the commitment made by GPS we look at the Malaysia Agreement as well as our Constitution and we have certain rights in oil and gas.
“Meaning we have additional revenue, which will be used over time to develop the state. At the same time I have indicated that I want to set up our sovereign fund for the future,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, he said there were challenges in building the bridge along with other bridges due to the high costs involved.
However, he pointed out that the state was able to find the revenue to develop Sarawak even as the Pakatan Harapan federal government cancelled the projects.
“GPS will continue to develop the rural areas because they must be developed.
“The benefit is that we can open up new areas and develop the socio-economy of the people. With connectivity, the young people can develop in areas such as modern farming with IoT (Internet of Things). We are also stepping up to improve Internet access. All these are being implemented,” he said.
Abang Johari stressed that there must be a target for the future of Sarawak’s children, but in order for that to happen the environment must be good.
“Thank God we have stability and understanding among us, because we have one objective; that is to be a developed state by 2030.
“That is why we need to develop basic infrastructure, electricity, water and education,” he said.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister and Infrastructure and Ports Development Minister Tan Sri James Masing, Assistant Minister of Infrastructure and Ports Development Datuk Julaihi Narawi, Batang Lupar MP Dato Sri Rohani Abdul Karim, and others.
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