Pakatan Rakyat has unveiled a 10-point manifesto for Sarawakians aimed at restoring the state's wealth to the people and bringing them abreast with the rest of the world.
The plan won high praises from prominent civil society leaders and socio-economic experts.
Among key highlights are a guarantee of freedom of religion, free WiFi to move Sarawak into a knowledge-state, a Competency, Accountability and Transparency system of governance, respecting the 18-points agreement and a promise to investigate allegations of the ill-gotten wealth of BN leaders and their cronies.
"It is a most commendable plan, comprehensive and caring and should be welcome by Sarawakians. Of particular note is the commitment to guarantee freedom of religion, which is a hot issue. This condition was absent in the manifesto released by the BN last night. Pakatan has already scored over BN by giving this topic its top priority," Ramon Navaratnam, chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Studies, told Malaysia Chronicle.
Doing the right thing by Sarawakians
Sarawak will hold its 10th state election on April 16 and campaigning is now in high gear as the Opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim give the unpopular and scandal-plagued Chief Minister Taib Mahmud the fight of his political life.
Seventy-one seats in the state assembly are up for grabs. The Pakatan will be contesting in 69 with PKR fielding 49 candidates, DAP 15 and PAS 5. Taib's BN coalition will go for all 71 seats.
There are about 2.5 million people in Sarawak, of which 43 per cent are Christians.
Many major issues have cropped up of late including a row over the Malay-language Bible, which has sparked concerns amongst the non-Muslims about their freedom to practise their own faiths.
Another is the mountain of corruption scandals dogging the fabulously wealthy Taib, who has ruled Sarawak with a fist of iron for 30 years. He has been accused of amassing "inordinate amount of wealth through the timber industry".
But despite repeated calls, the federal government and the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission have ignored what was plain to see even though there is a specific provision in the MACC Act to investigate all those who live above their means.
A foreign NGO also recently reported that the 74-year old Taib controlled at least 49 companies spanning 8 countries.
"Second, ill-gotten gains are particularly pertinent in Sarawak where there have been long-standing reports of vast accumulation of wealth by a few individuals. This provision would certainly be put to test in fertile ground in Sarawak," said Ramon.
"Another very sensitive issue to indigenous Sarawakians is the long overdue attention towards resolving their basic anxiety over their ancestral land. So this pronouncement will be most welcome to the people there. Tackling poverty and reducing poverty will also go down well as the majority of Sarawakians are poor.
"The focus on banning nuclear plants is the very first commitment of its kind in Malaysia. This move could well be replicated by the federal government and all the other state governments given the tragic lessons from Japan.
"The provision for free Wifi will also be welcome and will have positive impact on the way Sarawakians communitcate and is especially beneficial in a society that is unfortunately dispersed across vast geographical terrain," Ramon, the past president of Transparency International, concluded.
Malaysia Chronicle appends below the full-text of the Pakatan manifesto released in Kuching today (Due to a server problem, our earlier upload was interrupted and the full manifesto truncated. We apologise for the inconvenience to readers)
1. FREEDOM OF BELIEF
WE GUARANTEE FREEDOMOF RELIGION as enshrined in the Federal Constitution without any form of hindrances and make no discrimination in assistance and allocations to a particular belief or religionand in the
process maintain the status ofSarawak as a secular State.
2. GOOD GOVERNANCE
WE PROMISE GOOD GOVERNANCE premised onproven international principles of Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT),which will create and promote a clean administration of the State’s welfare, equal business opportunities, and bring back national pride, patriotismand self esteem in the public sector.
WE PLEDGEA FAIR DISTRIBUTION of the State’s wealth and riches, endeavoring to end the practice of favouritism, corruption, cronyism and nepotism.
WE PROMISE TO SET UP AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION OF INQUIRY to investigate the allegations ofillgotten wealth of BN politicians and their cronies, to ensure the due process of law and prosecution and to return the wealth to the people of Sarawak.
WE PROMISE to establish an Ombudsman to receive complaints from the public against corruption and power abuse by Government Ministers and heads of departments.
WE PLEDGE TO RESTORE local government elections for all local authorities including the adatruaiand/or
custom of choosing the Village Leaders or KetuaMasyarakat in order to return power to the people at all levels.
3. LAND REFORM & NATIVE LAND COMMISSION
all expiring leases will beunconditionally renewed for 99 years;
all s.47 notifications will automatically lapse after 2 years of gazettal;
all in perpetuity and 999-year leases will remain when land is approved for development;
land alienation will be carried out through open tenders; and
a Native Land Commission shall be formed having the power to investigate all
Native Customary Rights land claims, and thereafter to survey and issue grant
or leases to such lands in accordance with the adator customs of the natives of
Sarawak.
4. ERADICATION OF POVERTY
WE PROMISE to set up a RM1 billion State Poverty Alleviation Fund to ensure that no family in Sarawak lives below the official poverty line.
WE PLEDGE TO KICK-START THE RURAL ECONOMY by the construction of roads connecting all the rural areas of Sarawak that will quicken the provision and construction of public amenities including schools, kindergartens, medical services and telecommunications.
WE ENCOURAGE AND PROMOTE agricultural entrepreneurship, like small holdings through micro-financing to all farmers.
Berubahlah! Vote for a NEW Sarawak!
5. FEDERAL-STATE RELATIONS
WE PLEDGE to maintain good federal state relations in line with the spirit of the Malaysian Agreement 1963, and to ensure that any marginalization,
neglect and omission on the 18 points be addressed immediately.
Confident that Pakatan Rakyat will take over the federal government WE
GUARANTEE to increase the petroleum royalty from the present 5% to 20%.
WE BELIEVE that priority in employment opportunities in the public service
of Sarawak should be given to Sarawakians.
6. GREENER SARAWAK
WE WILLENSURE the observance and implementation of State and International laws and/or conventions on the environmentfor the benefit of future generations of Sarawakians.
WE WILL STOP the constructions of excess dams.
WE FORBID the construction of nuclear powered plants in Sarawak.
7. A FAIR DEAL FOR ALL SARAWAKIANS
WE ARE COMMITTED to support stable economic growth, sustainable development and a fairer distribution of income and wealth based on hard work, competitiveness and technological innovation.
WE ENDEAVOUR to remain investor friendly, emphasizing long term investment in human capital by offering financial incentives to all industries to upgrade the technical skills of their employees as well as their production processes.
WE PROMISE the immediate registration of stateless Sarawakians and the unconditional granting of citizenship papers to all Malaysians of Sarawak origin.
WE PLEDGE a grant of RM200-00 for every child of Sarawak origin who begins primary one education.
In appreciation of their contribution to the State, WE PROMISE to give all Sarawakians above 60 years of age who are residents in the State annual welfare assistance of RM600-00 and to set up community support systems within every local government authority for their continued well-being.
8. CULTURE AND EDUCATION
WE RESPECT the constitutional rights of all ethnic groups to learn their mother tongues and to treat all mother tongue education equally.
WE PLEDGE that all schools regardless of background will be given systematic allocations according to needs as is practised in Penang, Selangor and Kelantan so that our children can have a bright future.
WE EMPHASIZE thatScience and Mathematicssubjectsin secondary schools must be taught in the English language.
9. RIGHTS of WOMEN’S & THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
WE GUARANTEE gender equality and will REVIEW all laws that are discriminatory against women.
WE PLEDGE to establish women’s aid centres to shelter women suffering from violence and child care services to reduce the financial and psychological burden of working mothers.
WE PLEDGE to set up more special schools for children with special needs.
WE IMPLEMENT measures to employ those with disabilities and PROMISE incentives to employers who employ them.
10. INVESTMENT INTO THE FUTURE
WE PROMISE to tackle the flood problems in Sarawak in 2 years.
WE EMPHASIZE in long term investment in human capital and infrastructure to make Sarawak a great economy.
WIFI will be provided free to move Sarawak into a knowledge state.
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