Federal govt assures empowerment rights of Sarawak: Najib

BINTULU: Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said the federal government gave its assurance that it would hand over the empowerment rights of Sarawak to the state government.

The Prime Minister said the talks would only involve the federal government and the Barisan Nasional (BN) state government headed by Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

"I have no intention of taking Sarawak's rights. We can give them back, if we have taken them," he said at a meet-the-people gathering which was attended by more than 15,000 people here, today.

He said the federal government would not conduct any talks with parties other than the Chief Minister although some quarters claimed they were fighting in the interest of Sarawak's rights.

On the the 11th State General Election (PRN) this year, Najib said the construction of the Batang Lupar bridge in Sri Aman would be made part of BN's pledge.

"It will be a manifesto of Sarawak BN to be implemented," he said, adding the financing is done jointly by the federal government and state government, with the federal government and state government contributing 50% each.
He added the cost of the project have yet to be determined.

He said the Batang Lupar bridge project was set to boost the economy of villages along the coast of Sarawak.

"We have big plans for Sarawak, not just political rhetorics, we have delivered and (will) continue to deliver," he said when referring to the RM16 billion Pan Borneo Highway project which was being implemented.

He also gave his assurance that dilapidated schools in the interior of Sarawak would be repaired besides giving his commitment to enter the pledge in the BN manifesto.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem said the state government agreed with the suggestion of the federal government to jointly build the Batang Lupar bridge which would become the longest in Malaysia upon completion.

Earlier, Najib said Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Sungai Ladong, about 100km from Kuching, would have a new building in five weeks' time.
The RM2 million building will be constructed using Industrialised Building System (IBS) technology.

He said the block would be equipped with six classrooms and two teachers' quarters, while a science laboratory would also be built next to the existing premises.

Najib also visited the RM211 million Batang Sadong Bridge project site accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang which is 91% completed.

Construction of the 1.48km bridge across Batang Sadong River, which would be the longest in the state, started in July, 2012, and scheduled to be completed in August this year. The allocation for the bridge was approved by Najib during the state election campaign in 2011. – Bernama