SARAWAK DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) chief Peter Hee is being called “ignorant” over comments he made on the funding of a flagpole in Kuching. 

The 99-metre flagpole – the tallest in the country – is being erected in the state capital to mark the 60th anniversary of Malaysia’s founding. 

Hee yesterday said the RM30 million cost to erect the pole was not only exceedingly high, but the money could be better spent by the state government on “more practical projects and poverty eradication programmes”.

Abdul Samat Gany, political secretary to the Sarawak premier, said Hee “certainly doesn’t look like a person who is well-read and keeps abreast of developments taking place around (him) in relation to the subject matter”. 

Samat was alluding to the clarification made by Premier Abang Johari Openg in February on the rationale for the flagpole. 

In the February 2 press conference, Abang Johari said the project was the initiative of the private sector and the state government’s role was only to identify a suitable site for it. 

“Most would have read and understood pretty well that the erection of the said pole was a private-sector proposition funded in the spirit of corporate social responsibility and the state government is only involved in matters relating to identifying the site for the project,” Samat said.

“The explanation has been made public close to five months ago and the general public at large understood and accepted it with open mind as the flagpole would certainly add colour to the city and complement our efforts to lure tourists into the country.

“It’s pretty clear no funding is made by the state government on this project. So where is the wasting of the state funds and wrong spending here?” Samat asked Hee.

Samat also reminded Hee that the state government’s yearly development budget has always been people-centric, focusing on rural development to elevate the socio-economic livelihood of the people. 

The state’s long term poverty eradication programme, he added, was clearly stipulated in its Post-Covid Development Strategy 2030 unveiled three years ago. – June 21, 2023.