Speech by SA for Padungan, Wong King Wei at DUN Sarawak

On Budget

Estimated Revenue increased from 6.9b 2018 to 10.5b in 2019. The major source of income resulting the increment is sales tax on petroleum products, a sum of about 3.9b.

We as Sarawakian take pride, not just because of the we have more revenue, but how the new tax will affect the livelihood of the Sarawakian and how the Government is going to manage the revenue.

Affecting the livelihood of Sarawakian- 5% of new sales tax is burdening the Sarawakian as we will expect a series of price hike in Sarawak. Whilst the PH govrt is working very hard to lower the price of the goods, GPS government is nevertheless doing the contrary. 3.9B extra revenue will be from the pocket of all the Sarawakian and in average each Sarawakian is estimated to bear each person RM1,400 per person per year, including infant and toddler who are yet to know how to differentiate left hand or right hand. An household of average 5 will have to be burdened with RM7000 per household per year. By getting rid of GST, we lighten the burden of each Malaysian about RM750 per year and a household of RM3750. Now GPS government impose additional new tax of RM7000 per household.

This will also make Sarawak the only state with additional tax on the petroleum product. Make us less competitive in economy market and rakyat is more burdened.

How the GPS government is managing this additional tax? Instead of making Sarawak an additional surplus of 3.9b, 2019 budget projected only 122 million surplus. It means GPS govt is spending all we are getting in additional.

The big chunk went into 1.535 billion for new allocation walkabout projects. Obviously this is a election budget, for GPS. For candidates of GPS to distribute it during walkabout. If it is for the benefit for Sarawakian, why not a single cents is given for us as PH Aduns?

Further, it is not how extraordinary huge of the budget, but it is how the fiscal is managed. Transparency accountability is the core to the fiscal management . CM disclosed that 282 walkabout projects have been approved even before the budget was made. 6.3 billion was allocated for these 282 projects. In average 22 million per project. How can we give ADUNS or Ministers to on the spot approve such a huge projects at their whim and fancy? Yet GPS government is saying you are managing the fiscal in proper manner.

Over powerful SS

The current SS is over-powerful. This is something not healthy in a democratic system. CM, Ministers Aduns are elected by the people. They are answerable to the people every five years, they are subject to political scrutiny. But government officers are not, SS is neither.

The current SS is over powerful and more powerful than an ordinary Ministers. Ministers have to subject to be questioned in this August House, and to be questioned by the people, but not SS. If his office is more powerful than executive members, who is going to question him or override him.

Secondly, for one person to wear so many hats, he would not be able to discharge his duty efficiently. My colleague has raised in this Dewan numerous time on the application for or or citizenship have been sitting in SS office for months and years.

I was made known to know SS is having 20-30 governmental positions in various statutory bodies it GLC.

I am listing out few out of many….

SEDC annual report 2017 which was just tabled in this August House, at page 20, revealed that SS only attended 1 out of 4 meetings of the Board in 2017.

I urge the State Government to disclose all his governmental positions and total remuneration that he is receiving.

We have Plenty of capable and experienced government officers who are capable to be appointed of some position. It is not wise for the Government to lump many position on one person and make him over powerful.

From the way I see it, the current SS is acting like a Ketua Menteri Bayangan in which he is extending his power over all the ministries. Something has to be done to correct this as the Consitution Al democracy is at stake.

Tan Sri morshidi was appointed as SS since 2/8/2009. It is coming to 10 years in service. It is timely for the executive to seriously think about his appointment.

On dilapidated schools, I want to touch on two points:-

It was misleading the house for YAB CM to say in his budget speech that “the 2019 Federal Budget did not indicate any allocation for dilapidated schools in Sarawak’. This is not true. For the verification from Federal Deputy Education Minister, the 2019 budget has located 100 million for dilapidated school. Bear in mind on top of this allocation, there is annual allocation for maintenance of school buildings nationwide , amounting to 652 million, a sum of 100 million more than BN budget for year 2018.

I have also verified with the Ministry of Education in federal that the numbers of dilapidated schools in Sarawak is 206, including those critical and not critical. However, YAB CM mentioned that there are 1020 dilapidated school, and out of which 412 are critical one. My figure of 206 I’d provided by the education department of Sarawak to the Ministry of Education, where does YAB CM’s 1020 schools come from, it is a figure simply plucking from the air with intention to exeggerate the figure to ask for more allocation over and above of what it indeed needed.

DUN reform

In conjunction of 150 years anniversary celebration, instead of putting effort in organising all sorts of competitions or events, The speaker should look into the reform of DUN to make it a institution reflecting democracy.

Questions shd be answered promptly. We have various questions were only given answer on the eve of the next sitting, some still outstanding.

Members shd be allowed to rise and start speaking freely without first obtain consent from the chair. We are elected member, honourable because of our duty in a trying expectation and voices of the people. Why should we be subjected to the mood and consent of the Speaker before we can start to speak. I agree that the chair has the duty to ensure the order of the house, but the chair should only have the power to stop any member to speak when the decorum is not observed by a particular member. Speaker does not has the power to dictate when a member is allowed to speak. I will not cite example of Westminster or the book of eskimay, let just look at Parliament of our country. Even in BN time, all MPs are allowed to start speaking without any hinderances by switch on the mic freely. That is a house of 222 members. We are only having 82 of us here, is our Speaker so incapable to preside the sitting without the assistance of this so called high technology mic system?

Sittings and PAC meetings shd be made available to public through live telecast.

I never came across any of the Motions of the opposition members has been allowed for debate. The Speaker is always creative enough to strike out the motion with all sorts excuses, with only one aim, to protect the executive from answering the issues raised.

Hydrogen Bus

I seek for the Minister to disclose the full details of how much is the total estimation for implementing Hydrogen Bus system in Kuching by providing breakdown such as purchase of the buses, plant, depot, annual operation costs etc.

10 out of many positions held by State Secretary