13/11/2026

FRIDAY | NOV 13, 2026

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ALL STORIES BY JOSEPH PETER

SUPP chief takes DAP to task

GPS moves to ensure govt aid reaches rural residents

KUCHING: Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP) has begun calling out its opponent Sarawak DAP publicly, as campaigning heats up for the 13th Sarawak state elections. SUPP, a component party of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) caretaker state government, is facing DAP in the urban state constituencies. SUPP president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian launched a salvo against DAP during a public road construction launching ceremony in his Batu Kawah constituency. “They talk about check and balance. What sort of check and balance have they done? “They have 40 MPs. What have these 40 DAP MPs accomplished? Don’t tell us here in Sarawak about check and balance. We (GPS) know how to check and balance ourselves.” SUPP is the component party that will contest most of the urban seats. Three days ago, GPS chairman Tan Sri Abang Johari Abang Openg hinted that the urban state constituencies in Sarawak where Chinese voters are the majority would face a tough contest in the state elections. Johari, who is caretaker premier following dissolution of the state legislative assembly last month, had appealed to Chinese voters to support GPS. “I call on voters, especially the Chinese in Kuching (southern Sarawak), Sibu (central Sarawak) and Miri (northern Sarawak) to give GPS a fresh mandate. “Let us work together for the betterment of Sarawak. GPS wants to continue addressing key issues affecting Sarawak. We want to continue advancing the Sarawak development agenda. We need the Chinese communities to support us. This is especially so in Kuching, Sibu and Miri. He was speaking at the installation ceremony for new office bearers of the Federation of Chinese Associations of Sarawak in Kuching on Tuesday. He added that the federation had asked the state government to consider proposals for more land titles for Chinese schools and places of worship. He also said the federation wants to see better immigration policies to ease the recruitment of foreign workers into Sarawak. “All these issues, we (state government) are looking into. However, we need fresh mandate from the (public),” he said. Johari expressed hope that the Chinese communities and state government could forge closer rapport. Sarawak has 82 state constituencies. Out of this number, there are 16 constituencies in which Chinese voters form the majority. The 16 seats form about 20% of the total seats in the state legislative assembly. The Chinese hot seats are mostly in the divisions of Kuching, Sibu and Miri. In the 2021 state polls, GPS won 76 seats. The other six seats were lost to the Opposition in urban Kuching and urban Sibu. Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) won four, while DAP won two. PSB dissolved itself in 2024 with three assemblymen joining the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), which is a component of GPS. One PSB assemblyman, See Chee How, became an independent in the Batu Lintang seat. See has since joined SUPP. The GPS component parties are Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu, SUPP, Parti Rakyat Sarawak and PDP.

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telecommunication

SARAWAK Nomination Day Nov 28

o Coalition working to close gaps in awareness causing many to miss out : Caretaker minister

devices to apply.

“There are also those who are living isolated in hard-to-reach places and have no transport to go to welfare offices in cities and towns. “That is why community heads, village leaders and NGOs must play bigger roles in reaching out and disseminating information

KUCHING: A Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state caretaker minister has admitted there are many rural communities throughout Sarawak that are missing out on goverment aid that includes numerous welfare programmes and development initiatives. Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn, who is in charge of Education, Innovation and Talent Development, said weaknesses in terms of communication and information dissemination were among the main factors contributing to the issue. “We (state authorities) are stepping up our efforts to reach out to those in the rural areas throughout Sarawak who are missing out on the many government initiatives and welfare programmes (because) they had not received the necessary information. “We need to overcome this lack of communication. “We must step up efforts to get closer to the rural population so that all of them can get the correct information and receive aid from the government programmes that are meant to improve their daily living,” he said when launching the SarawakKu Sayang programme in Serian town, located 60km from Kuching. Roland, who is incumbent state assemblyman for Tarat in southern Sarawak, said the GPS state government launched the programme as part of its efforts to interact with the grassroots populace. He added that the programme involved roadshows to towns, villages and rural longhouse communities. He also said the teams involved are made up of government units such as the Welfare Department, district offices and other government agencies. However, Roland said the matter of rural residents not benefitting from government welfare aid and development initiatives is something that has plagued rural Sarawak for years. “The problem has been seen in all parts of Sarawak, even in semi-rural areas and urban locations.” Roland, who is representing Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu, the main component party of GPS, is expected to defend his Tarat seat in the coming 13th Sarawak state elections. Last year, Datuk Rosey Yunus, who was then the Women, Community Wellbeing MIRI: The federal government has secured direct foreign investments into Malaysia, with Sarawak benefitting from these investments, said Miri MP Chiew Choon Man. Chiew, who is also Sarawak Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Youth national vice-chief, said Sarawak has benefitted from large-scale foreign investors as Malaysia becomes a destination of choice for global business development groups. He cited the recent announcement of a US$1.85 billion (RM7.55 billion) project as an example. “The investment by SoftBank Group and Grab saw them signing a joint development agreement with Petroleum Sarawak Bhd. “The three had proposed an initial combined seeding capital of up to US$1.85 billion.

and Childhood Development state deputy minister, said she found many elderly individuals were not getting the financial welfare aid and other benefits such as health treatment schemes that the government had put in place. “There are many seniors out there who may not be benefitting from government welfare aid as their names are not on the approved list of recipients. “They may not know of the many welfare schemes available for those aged 60 and above. “They may not be knowledgeable on how to Early

Early voting: Dec 8 Polling: Dec 12

to all the elderly groups.” Rosey, who is state assemblywoman, said there are many health assistance schemes specifically tailored for lower income earners and senior citizens aged 60 and above. Sarawak has a population of some three million people, with about a third living in the rural areas. Bekenu

Roland said the matter of rural residents not benefitting from government welfare aid and development initiatives is something that has plagued rural Sarawak for years. – BERNAMAPIC

State to benefit from federal foreign investments: Miri MP

(RM61.25 billion) in Malaysia to develop its projects over the next two years. “Meanwhile, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce vice-chairman Pansy Ho is also planning to invest up to US$15 billion into Malaysia to manufacture materials for use in the semiconductor, precision high-tech engineering and digital economy sectors. “The growing foreign investments will see Sarawak continuing to get its share as the Madani government is fair in wanting to see all states getting mutual benefits from the central government.” Sarawak PKR is part of the Pakatan Harapan opposition pact in Sarawak. The other PH partners in Sarawak are Sarawak DAP and Sarawak Parti Amanah.

The project will involve developing artifical intelligence (AI) capacity across Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. “The target of the AI project is to generate (computing) capacity of five gigawatts with (a higher) long-term target. “This is an example of how federal and states are mutually benefitting from the Madani government efforts to bring in foreign invesments into our country,” he said in a press statement. Chiew, who is also federal Tourism, Arts and Culture deputy minister, referred to other examples of clear results of growing confidence in Malaysia by major global business and industrial players. “Google is planning to invest US$15 billion