Speech
by Chiew Chiu Sing ADUN N59 Kidurong on the debate on the Motion of
Appreciation on the
Address
of His Excellency the Govenor of Sarawak on 23rd of May, 2013 in the Sarawak
State Legislative Council, Kuching, Sarawak.
Mr. Speaker,
I rise to join in the debate on the
Motion of Appreciation on the address of His Excellency the Govenor of Sarawak
which was so graciously delivered in
this August House on the 20th of May, 2013.
First of all I wish to thank all of
our peoples who had participated in the historic general election just past,
what ever it was, and however it had
turned out, we had all worked hard to
win, because each of us whether it is from PR or BN, believe that
we can do a better job in building a
better Malaysia.
I wish to thank especially all those
who had supported the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat. Before the election, we had two MPs from Sarawak, now we have six,
5 DAPs and 1 PKRs.
Mr. Speaker,
In building the better Malaysia, we have to start from our electoral process
where we must account for all of the
irregularities that happened during the
last election, and we call upon all
peoples to come forward to share with us all the irregularities and help us to
get to the truth.
Mr. Speaker,
Our elections show that we are moving further and further
away from our moral compass. We must steer ourselves to set the course towards
the ideals that founded our nation.
The election results had shown that
the majority of Malaysians want better governance and a system that is not corrupt,
feeding off greed and abuses of power.
Some are quick to blame it baselessly
on race because that is the easiest, but in fact people of all races had voted
for change. Pakatan majority of support from the electorate reaffirms our hope
in building a better Malaysia.
And while our nation is seeking to
become a high- income economy by the year 2020. The stated target for achieving
this status is a GNI (Gross National Inome) per capita of USD 15,000.
But there is no point of attaining
the high-income status if we we forget our moral obligations like as stated in the UN eight Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), and they are:-
-to eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger,
-achieving universal primary
education,
-promoting gender equality and empowering
women, reducing child mortality rates,
-improving maternal health, combating
HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases and
-ensuring environment and developing
global partnership for development.
These eight MDGs are essentially the
duty of every responsible government and is focused on equality - equality of
access, equality of opportunity, equality of availability of resources,
equality of affordable services and perhaps equality of being respected with
human dignity.
But to the contrary, our inequality
gap is widening. Income inequality is worsening in Malaysia.
According to a 2010 World Bank
report, the bottom 40 per cent of our
workforce earns only 14.3 per cent of the total income, while the top fifth,
mostly of corporate elites, takes nearly
half the pie.
Little money is only distributed to
the people who actually move the economy- the average worker. Our rich-poor gap has in fact risen to be
the highest in Asia after Papua New Guinea.
One third of our of our Malaysian
workers currently earn less than RM700 a month.
Employee wages make up only 28 % of
our national income, while the figure is 40% in Singapore and 51 per cent in
Canada. This is due in part to policies that encourage low-skill foreign labour
that suppress the wage market and a lack of attention to upskilling and
enhancing domestic workers.
This is a challenge that our country
must face carefully. It is increasingly believed that inequality is an
impediment to economic growth.
In fact, some have even suggested
that inequality may have a stronger effect on growth compared to other factors
such as foreign investment, market accessibility, and the strength of political
institutions.
This is because inequality is a fundamental fracture
in a society. When the gap is wide enough, it will lead to reduced educational
and economic opportunities for a large segment of the population.
While inequality is seen to be an
obstacle to sustained economic growth, studies have shown that the presence of
equality can actually produce more efficient outcomes.
For example, equality of opportunity
in health and education will directly protect and enhance the pool of available
human capital, strengthening its operational capacity and thus enabling value
-added economic growth.
Mr.
speaker,
Another problem with widening levels
of inequality is the fact that it is often a symptom of a larger systemic
problem called state monopoly capitalism. Some terms it 'corporatocracy"
Whatever you call it, it refers to
the control of economic and political systems by big businesses or corporate
interest, in most cases in collusion with thte state. Such a scenario is a
breeding ground for inequality.
This can be seen in Wall Street where
affluent bankers who failed, get bailed
out with taxpayer money because they are 'too big to fail' whilst ordinary
folks lose their house and jobs.
In Malaysia huge billion ringgit
loans to cronies get written off from the Federal Government whilst the
ordinary people have to pay to the last cent or go bankrupt.
The prevailing rent-seeking structure
has produced a monopolistic system that benefits a select group of cronies
benefiting from directly negotiated contracts and sweetheart deals. it is clear
who benefits and who loses out.
The system is structured to favour a
select group of crony capitalists, while the people at large have to bear the
burden of inefficiency. Hence, contributing to a further widening income gap in
Malaysia.
Mr. Speaker, the fundmentals of a
successful economy are the same all over there world. and the 5 fundamental
characteristics of an economy that works are :
Firstly, it must be socially
inclusive. As Gandhi once said, a nations's greatness is measured by how it
treats its poor, imprisoned and the weak. Hence, it is incumbent upon any
government to ensure the selling of the urban poor and other socially,
marginalised groups.
secondly, all developments must be
sustainable engaging both the public and private sector for full commitment.
Thirdly, there must be economic
solidarity. Inequality of opportunity must be addressed, not only for moral
reasons but also because greater equality will result in better economic
outcomes.
If we are able to address issues such
as the cost of education, healthcare and access to infrastructure, we will be
able to raise disposable income and lower the opportunity bar, which will then
empower the people and produce a better, smarter and more entrepreneurial
workforce.
Fourthly, monopolies must be broken
allowing markets to be operate efficiently.
And lastly there must be clean
governance- A government free of corruption. A step towards closing the
opportunity for corruption would be
introducing the open competitive tenders and disclosure of government contracts
for public scrutiny, as being practiced by the Penang PR government.
In ensuring clean governance they
have also their State Executive council including the Chief Minister to make
full public declaration of their assets.
Mr. Speaker,
The potentials for Sarawak and in
fact the whole country is immense when we embark on the right policies and that
is why we PR sees the need for a fundamental change to build a better Sarawak
and Malaysia.
Mr.Speaker,
So many of the rural folks who had
come to town to find a living through earning wages in town, are finding out that it is not enough to just
rely on wages to move up to the economic ladder and had turned to farming to
earn extra income.
This is only natural and great
entrepreneurship for these our rural brothers and sisters as so many of them who had come to town were farmers before. And
now that they have a little savings from wages, they want to invest in
planting, like for example palm oil.
It is their wish and also those in
the urban who want to do farming to be allocated farm land, say of 5 acres so
that they can also be agriculturally productive.
I see this as a positive, the peoples' initiative to become productive and
urge that the government work out a plan to meet their needs for all those in
Sarawak and especially for those at the Kidurong area in Bintulu. This can be
in terms of land rental for a short term
or other measures of land lease.
Mr. Speaker,
Flat dwellers of the three end blocks
of the Sg. Plan Flats, Kidurong, namely Block M, P and another, had been suffering
and suffocating from the rolling and airborne dirt as a result of earth moving and transporting
works on the road right by the flat,
about the distance from Mr. Speaker place to my seat here.
The situation is bad each day, when
the ten wheelers, carrying the
earth, rolled by the flats, kicking up so much dirt in the air.
There was not even a watering truck
seen, to keep the dirt down at all times.
The residents had made complains and complains, but the situation
persisted.
I cannot see how a license can be
issued, in a situation like this, where the earth transporting activity is done
so close to the flats which lived so many people.
And even if a license were to be issued,
the conditions must be extra tight,
to ensure a complete peaceful living environment and non disturbance of
the people living there!
Right now the flat folks cannot even dry their clothes, not to mention
the dirt which is everywhere, in the living room, dinning room, bed room- on
the bed and kitchen table and where not.
Unfortunately, so many who are responsible, had chosen to close an eye on
the whole matter and enforcement are no where to be seen either. They must be
there all the time to ensure that the
works are carried out in strict accordance to special conditions for the
peaceful living of the people there.
It is therefore urged that either an
alternative route be sought, or the dirt
and dust on the site and on the road must
be completely controlled at all times, before the earth works can carry
on further. Folks staying at these flats
do not deserve the pollution like this at all. Things like this just
done happen in other countries, what is happening to ours ?
Mr. Speaker,
Last December, right after our DUN
sitting, I went home to Bintulu and almost
everyday I read of report in the news of lorry missing, big lorries - ten
wheelers ! I mean how could such a big, noisy and clumsy machine be stolen that easily !
One would imagine that if just one lorry were stolen, it would have been too many already. But it
kept on being stolen until about 15 of them were gone !!
Police reports were made and even
clips of the act of stealing the lorries
in process were taken by the CCTV in the owners' yard. The clips were given to the police, but the stealing
went on.
One could not help but wonder how
could this happened so daringly and how
come the situation was not overcome and
the thieves arrested in the first instant when just one lorry was stolen.
Last week, I read of similar thefts in Bintulu again,
this time it's the 4 wheel drives vehicles being stolen. One was stolen when
the owner went down to buy newspaper at Medan Jaya, Bintulu and the other was, when another owner went to
the night market to buy some thing and by the time he got back in about half
hour, the 4 wheel drive was gone.
Mr. Speaker,
We are very concerned about this,
because if the stealing is not stopped
right the way, it will continue on and become ever more rampant. The thieves will
become even more daring.
Mr. Speaker,
Such act of crime in our society is
most damaging, as it threatens us and weaken our confidence in our government whether the govenment of
the day really cares about our safety or
not and I wish to urge that the police to take all measures to step up its
forces and fight the crimes all the way.
Having said the above, I must however
thank the BTU KPD Mr. Madan and Inspector John who were always helpful when
being asked for assistance.
I welcome the new IGP,
Tan Sri Kahlid's remarks, when he
took office last week, that fighting
crime is his first priority, we wish for him and all his man's success to restore the peace and order for
all of us.
Mr. Speaker,
According to the Iban in the
Sepadok/Silas, Bintulu, area, they had
been burying their deads at their present burial grounds near the Sepaok river
even before the 1930s until today.
But the Bintulu Development Authority
had also gazetted the area to be a part of the Phase I (Tambahan) of the Kemena
Industrial Estate.
At the beginning of this year, I have
receieved a letter dated 15th of January, 2013, written to the Land and Survey
Dept in Bintulu, and letters before this, to the government, where the longhouse folks of the
Sepadok/Silas area had objected to this and asked that the gazette for the
Kemena Estate of that specific area be cancelled and a new gazette be issued to
the longhouse folks for them to continue on
to used the said land as
inidcated in the letter dated 21st of
May 2012 addressed to the District Office for their burial grounds.
Mr. Speaker,
The longhouses folks are very much
been agrived by such matter, as this is
a matter of the deads whom they have buried even before the 1930s and a place for themselves when they should go one
day. We all appreciate the development
but at the same time we take care of the needs of our people as well, and I
wish that this matter can be solved amicably to give back the land and peace of mind to the longhouse folks there.
Mr. Speaker,
On the 28th of January, at the
beginning of this year. about 2000 local workers banded together and did a
demonstration at the SCORE site in Samalaju.They domonstated because they
wanted the companies there, to reduce the number of foriegn workers, estimated
to be numbering around 8000 on sites within the Samalaju area.
According to the local workers, the
companies had brought in the foreign workers and use them to replace terminated
and retrench local workers.
The local workers had wanted the
companies AND appeal to the authorities to uphold the Government policy of
giving job priorities to local workers. They said that foreign workers should
only be taken in at certain level when there is not enough local worker talents
and skills available.
They domonstrated also because they
felt that they have been unfairly treated where most of their wages were also
reduced from an average of twelve ringgit to about six ringgit per hour. The
foreign labourers were paid an average of twenty ringgit per hour and also provided with better lodging facilities
and transport to work. The local workers were in general afraid , and they felt that the practice of the companies had
not been fair and it discriminated against the local workers.
Mr. Speaker,
Most of the local workers had come
from rural areas, after completing their
secondary schools. Some came back from working in Semanajung Malaysia and are
willing to work in harsher condition in order to be close to their aging
parents while some have school going children and wanted to be close to their
families.
It seems that their hopes were dashed
when the companies began to recruit more foreign workers and are taking over
their jobs. The companies even have skill trainning programmes for foreign
workers lasting for a duratioon of two to three months while local workers
never received any.
I therefore urge that the government
should review its policies and procedures to allow local workers to continue to
be employed in the SCORE projects. Our government should never neglect the well
being of our local labourers, both semi skill and skill workers, at the expense
of keeping the country direct investiment
environmnet attractive. We should pursue a sustainable development
approach in our efforts to progress the country.
Mr. Speaker,
I have here a Mr. Wong Kai Ting of
262 and 263 Ground Floor, Parkcity Commerce Square Ph 4, Bintulu with SESCO
Account No. 100002154050 and Account No.100002154062 respectively.
SESCO had changed his meters about a
year ago and right after that slapped
him with a bill of RM57,825.14 and RM 36,688.10 respectively and
demanded that they pay up or the supply will be disconnected.
Mr. Wong was shocked and felt this to
be most unfair as he said he had done no wrong and had never tampered with the
meter. I felt that SESCO is being too heavy handed, whatever she says, is it.
Pay up or I cut your electricity, because last time your usage was less and now
more after the meter change. So Pay.
Mr. Speaker, There could be many
reasons why the usage was more.
SESCO' s harsh standing attitude in this case is not acceptable and I
urged that SESCO come up with a reasonable policy to solve such cases. I agree
with Member for Kota Santosa that any arreas should not be traced back for more
than 3 months.
Mr. Speaker,
Many of the cancer patients from the
local area and outstations who are getting the chemo therapy treatment at the
Sarawak General Hospital are very unhappy with the way how some the things are
run there.
Some of those who had come from
outstations and who were running low on white blood cells and have to do blood
test fast, yet are not allowed to get the blood test done first. They have to
wait till noon to get the blood test done and by the time that is done they
cannot do the chemo therapy anymore, as the time would not enough.
This is worse for those who had come
from outstation and who had bought the return ticket, they have no choice then
but to throw away the ticket and spend more money on new ticket and lodging
some more.
All these are adding on to the burden
and pain of the patient, Mr. Speaker.
I understand that the work load at
the chemo centre is heavy yet the facilities and hands are not enough, but the problem has been like that for quite
some time already and I urge that the Hospital to look into this matter quickly
so as to provide the good and efficient service to our patient there thus
enhancing the healing process of these cancer patients.
And with that, Mr. Speaker, Selamat Hari Gawai to all my Dayak
friends and Thank you.
