ON the eve of Sarawak Day, Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg made it clear to those who walk the corridors of power in Putrajaya that not all decisions made by them are good for the state.

“We respect the federal government and decisions made at the federal level but not every decision made in Putrajaya is suitable or practical for implementation in Sarawak,” he said in his Sarawak Day message released this afternoon.

Sarawak Day marks the day that the state was granted self-governance by British colonial rulers on July 22, 1963. Sarawak’s self-rule lasted for almost two months before it agreed to the formation of Malaysia with Malaya, Singapore and Sabah, then known as North Borneo, on September 16, 1963.

The chief minister said Sarawak had to ditch many of Putrajaya’s Covid-19 policies and implement its own regulations, as the federal government’s decisions do not take into account the difficulties faced by local authorities in terms of execution.

One example he gave is Putrajaya’s insistence that the Covid-19 vaccination registration be done through MySejahtera, pointing out that this is a problem for Sarawak due to the rural areas in the state.
 
“We… modified the process in order to allow our people in the rural areas to be vaccinated first and then later register in the MySejahtera application.

“It is difficult for those in the rural longhouses and villages to register and access MySejahtera,” he said, alluding to the absence of internet access in those areas.

“Allowing us to make decisions in accordance with the needs of Sarawak has also allowed us to accelerate the vaccination process,” he said, adding that such decisions are “more practical and effective”.

The chief minister also highlighted Sarawak’s inoculation programme, saying that the state’s rapid vaccination rate appears to have succeeded in reducing the number of infections. 

He added that 2.2 million adults in Sarawak, which is more than 60% of its population, have received their first vaccine jab.
 
He further said that it is important for Sarawak to make its own decisions as Sarawakians must determine the future of the territory if the state is to be treated as an equal partner of the federation. – July 21, 2021.