ABSENT from the discussion in the closed-door briefing for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Kuching today were the prickly subjects of the return of Sarawak state rights, the tussle over ownership of oil and gas between Petronas and the state, and the question of whether the Pakatan Harapan government would honour and implement projects approved under the 2018 budget.

A source who attended the meeting told The Malaysian Insight that the prime minister had however raised concerns on the increase of slum development in Sarawak’s towns and cities due to rural-urban migration, the high cost of building roads in the state, the need to reduce its dependence on foreign labour, and using household waste to generate power.

The prime minister gave his views on how the state’s vast resources could be exploited, particularly its rivers and vast tracts of land.

“The prime minister just listened and asked a few questions. He was non-committal on most things,” the source said.

In a video taken by the source and shared with The Malaysian Insight of the briefing at the state secretariat, Wisma Bapa Malaysia, in Petrajaya, Dr Mahathir was heard saying: “We have a lot of resources, but ideas on how to exploit them need to be looked into.”

Dr Mahathir said he feared “there will be slums” if housing in the cities and towns was not looked into.

On using household waste to generate power, Dr Mahathir was as saying “landfills are not a good way to dispose of household waste”.

“The best way is still to use them to generate power. There are technologies available.”

On the shortage of labour in the so-called “3D” (dirty, difficult and dangerous) jobs, the prime minister suggested training the youth for blue-collar jobs, or making white-collar jobs more attractive to them.

“Our people must be highly trained in mechanical and electronic things, so they can work in comfort,” he was heard saying.

“They don’t like to work out in the open. They like to work in air-conditioned factories.

“This means their skills need to be upgraded. I’m sure there are a lot of opportunities for well-trained workers.

“Malaysian workers do not like to do dirty and dangerous jobs, but they will work in nice air-conditioned places,” he said.

He said the solution applied not only to Sarawak, but to the whole country.

“These are the kinds of things Sarawak should look into.”

Dr Mahathir was also impressed with Kuching’s development.

He said it was at night the last time he visited the state, and he could not see much out of his car window then.

He said that in this trip, his first since assuming office after the May 9 general election, the ride from the airport to his hotel in the city awed him.

“I came in daytime. The road I took from the airport to the city was lined with many shophouses and residential homes.

He said the shops and the homes were sophisticated too.

“Kuching has obviously grown, and is growing very fast from the number of cranes I see.”

The prime minister is officially on a two-day visit to Kuching, but he spent the whole day yesterday attending a wedding at the Cove, a resort in Santubong, some 90km from Kuching, and at the development briefing today, just before flying off.

The briefing, attended by Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg, was given by State Secretary Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani.

Dr Mahathir said despite Sarawak being an opposition state, relations between the state and the new PH federal government “are good”, and could be made a basis for working together to develop the state.

“I hope we can work together.”

Earlier on arrival, the prime minister told reporters Sarawak had vast potential to exploit “its rivers and land”.

He spoke of tapping the rivers for power generation, including mini hydro projects for rural villages and longhouses.

“The potential for Sarawak is there, and depends on how we make use of the assets.” – July 15, 2018.