AT the rate Sarawak is moving, it can be a developed state with a high-income economy by 2030, Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said today.

“We (the Gabungan Parti Sarawak state government) are very confident that we can make Sarawak a developed state (by the 2030 target),” he told guests attending an earth-breaking ceremony for a sport cum community hall at the Kuching satellite town of Batu Kawa.

Abang Johari said his confidence is buoyed by the fact that the state’s economy continues to make its recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dozens of big infrastructure development projects like new traffic dispersal roads, bridges, and water projects in water depressed areas have been rolled out, he said.

He pointed to the “extra income” the state will make, alluding to the billions Sarawak stands to generate yearly from the state sales tax (SST) on petroleum products.

“We are on the right track. Our economic fundamentals are very strong. We have the resources. Our financial position is enhanced.

“We are the star, the crown jewel. We have become the envy of other states. That is why there are people who want to take over Sarawak.”

To sceptics, Abang Johari said they only had to look at the number of Indonesians who are seeking jobs in Sarawak.

“If these people are coming into the state, even illegally via the jalan tikus (illegal border crossings), then job opportunities in the state are plentiful.

“Otherwise, they won’t come.”

The chief minister described the state now as “sugar to ants”.

On the half a dozen major bridges the state is constructing on its second trunk and coastal roads, he said they will all be toll-free bridges although the state is spending billions of its own money to construct them. – January 5, 2021.