Batu Kitang rep tells PM to take a leaf from Sarawak Premier in how to lead the country
Lo said the ringgit has fallen to a new low and this has affected all Malaysians who have to face the rising cost of stable food items like rice among a host of other things. – Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING (Oct 28): Batu Kitang assemblyman Dato Lo Khere Chiang has called upon Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to take a leaf from Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg in leading the country.
He expressed his disappointment with how the federal government handles the weakening ringgit, as well as Anwar’s recent statement for government agencies to reject any official letters that are not written in Bahasa Malaysia.
He said the ringgit has fallen to a new low and this has affected all Malaysians who have to face the rising cost of stable food items like rice among a host of other things.
“Many Malaysians are scraping by just to live a simple and decent life while having to deal with rising inflation amidst more bad news that Malaysia’s foreign debt is currently at RM 1.7 trillion.”
“Facts show that while all our neighboring countries are improving their economy and concentrating on perfecting their English and Mandarin to keep on par with the rest of the world, our Prime Minister appears to be suppressing the use of English,” Lo said in a statement.
“Limiting our means of communication is not the best way to solve our economic issues. Neither does it help to preserve national unity. These are the two most pressing issues in our nation today,” he added.
He argued that the reason for the fall in ringgit is the outflow of direct and indirect foreign investments in Malaysia.
He pointed out that foreign companies choose to go to neighbouring countries Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and so on due to the many red tapes in Malaysia.
“Our PM (Anwar) has just added another red tape to stifle foreign investments in our country. Is it any wonder the ringgit keeps on falling?”
Lo said Sarawakians are fortunate to have sensible leaders in the likes of former Chief Minister the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem, current Premier Abang Johari, and a capable team of cabinet leaders who direct their focus on people-centric issues such as development in the state, transportation, the building of new international schools, new heart centre, new cancer centre and the likes.
“We in Sarawak, under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) choose to focus on the economy and look for viable means of income for the State. We do not choose to focus on issues like white shoes, black shoes, length of nurses’ uniforms, to invite or not to invite Coldplay or BlackPink.”
“We do not even need to discuss issues like whether we can use Bahasa Malaysia or English in our official letters. Unlike in Peninsular Malaysia, English happens to be one of our (state) official languages and we can always fall back on the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 (MA63) which protects the use of English in Sarawak. It is worth noting that MA63 is written in the English language and we need to be familiar with English in order to understand and ensure that all that is written shall be fulfilled as we and generations beyond us will continue to pursue MA63 years down the line.
“That is why I am most disappointed that the PM is worried about such a petty issue – that all official letters should be written in Bahasa Malaysia. He should be concentrating on rebuilding our economy, bringing down inflation and taking care of the welfare of all Malaysians.
“We are a joke to other neighbouring countries regarding how the policies here emphasize petty issues but fail to notice the elephant in the room.”
“Is the federal government so affected by a mere letter written in another language aside from Bahasa Malaysia (BM)? Is that the most important issue affecting Malaysians today?” he argued.
Lo said there are people who are hungry, who are skipping a meal or two just to stay afloat, and there are those who are worried about paying their essential bills, petrol and groceries.
“And here we have our honourable PM telling everyone to send back letters not written in Bahasa Malaysia. Talk about priorities in Malaysia,” he added.
“I, with some others, have been tasked to help in the Jepak by election and I would like the voters in Jepak to see what is going on in Malaya and to remind them to vote for GPS. We have no qualms about languages used in our official letters. We have no problems living with Muslims and non Muslims in our midst. We just hosted a very successful Borneo Sonic Music Festival featuring well known international artists with concert goers and fans flying in from Singapore and Malaya. Hosting these events put Kuching on the world map and brought in much needed revenue for our food vendors and hotels.
“Do you think these Korean international artists speak BM or Chinese? The only common language we can use is English. It is therefore of paramount importance for all Sarawakians to be united under Abang Jo and GPS to show Malaya that we are supporting the use of the English language in Sarawak,” he said.
“Let’s not forget that today, Sarawak is the only Wilayah (region) in Malaysia that recognises UEC (Unified Examination Certificate) and UEC is recognised by universities worldwide because apart from Mandarin, UEC graduates have a good command of English as well. Let us not forget that today, on the news recently, there are 14 scientists who form two per cent of the scientists worldwide all of whom are from University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) because they all have a good command of the English language,” Lo continued.
“We in Sarawak are respectful of the fact that Bahasa Malaysia is an important language for the unification of all denominations in Sarawak and Malaya. I use Bahasa Malaysia as my written and communication tool to communicate among my Malay, Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau and the many ethnic races throughout Sarawak and Sabah when I travel to other parts of the country. That is because I do not know the languages of each and every ethnicity nor do they know mine. So common sense dictates that we all use Bahasa Malaysia to communicate and not because we are forced to.
“On the same token, our leaders and parliamentarians in Malaya should also respect MA63 and be reminded of Sarawak’s right to use English under Article 161(3) of the Federal Constitution. All correspondences from Sarawak should be accepted by the federal government and civil service even if they are written in English,” he said
“I beg our PM to take a leaf from our Premier on how he helms the most harmonious Wilayah in Malaysia. Sarawak Boleh,” he concluded.
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