Anwar lies about projects to confuse Sarawakians

WELL the headline said it all — “Uggah: Anwar lied about Sarawak projects”.

PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had on Oct 20 announced to the media in Kuala Lumpur that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, in particular Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, misled Sarawakians.

He claimed that RM2 billion, or 92 per cent, of projects promised by Barisan Nasional (BN) had yet to be completed.

Datuk Seri Anwar also claimed that more than half a billion ringgit of projects were awarded directly without tender.

Well the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leader was putting PR spin … a lot of PR spin … on some figures that he plucked out from somewhere, goodness knows where.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dato Sri Douglas Uggah Embas has stated very clearly that Datuk Seri Anwar’s claims were all lies.

In fact 74 per cent or 228 of the 310 projects approved by Datuk Seri Najib and Tan Sri Muhyiddin had already been completed.

“The opposition leader’s remarks during the parliament sitting are all lies to smear the name and leaders of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. In truth, as of Oct 20, about 228 projects of the 310 in total have been completed. Only 41 projects (13 per cent) have yet to start, while another 41 projects (13 per cent) are currently on-going,” said Dato Sri Uggah.

“Regarding to his open tender claims, the reality is that about 95 per cent from the overall projects went through open tender basis.”

The Betong Member of Parliament also showed the media progress charts from Sept 12 that a total of 223 projects had been completed, 32 projects were on-going and 55 had yet to start.

That’s over a month before Datuk Seri Anwar made his baseless allegations.

Well PKR has been desperate to assert itself in Sarawak ever since the DAP usurped its position as the main opposition party in the State.

First PKR only manages three out of the 49 seats it contested during the State elections. Then DAP starts flexing its muscles, very quickly forgetting that it had endorsed Ba’Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian as Sarawak Chief Minister, by setting up a Shadow Cabinet with its State Chairman Wong Ho Leng as top dog. Next the party loses key Dayak leaders. To add salt to the wound, these Dayak leaders apply to join DAP! Now the two parties are trying to fight for parliamentary seats in the State, with overlapping claims yet to be resolved.

So it is no surprise then that Datuk Seri Anwar felt the need to grab some headlines and show who is the ‘boss’ of opposition parties by putting out some PR spin.

Deputy Works Minister Datuk Yong Khoon Seng has also stated that his ministry’s records show that over 90 per cent of projects scheduled for every Malaysia Plan (MP) in the State have been accomplished.

“So, I don’t know what Anwar meant by 92 per cent not completed,” he said.

Datuk Yong also said he believed Anwar blurted out his claim simply for political mileage.

“It’s okay, this is politics. Whatever he wants to say, by all means, except that I don’t want to ‘cakap sebarang’ (do baseless utterance),” he said.

Well said Sir, well said.

Uggah: Anwar lied about S’wak projects

By Geryl Ogilvy Ruekeith

KUCHING: Recent allegations by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the status of projects in Sarawak were lies, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dato Sri Douglas Uggah Embas.

Uggah said Anwar’s claims that 92 per cent of 310 projects worth RM2.3 billion approved for  the state had yet to be implemented were untrue.

The Betong MP told a press conference yesterday that in actual fact 74 per cent or 228 of the 310 projects approved by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had already been completed.

“The opposition leader’s remarks during the parliament sitting are all lies to smear the name and leaders of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. In truth, as of Oct 20, about 228 projects of the 310 in total have been completed. Only 41 projects (13 per cent) have yet to start, while another 41 projects (13 per cent) are currently on-going,” said Uggah.

Anwar had also claimed that open tenders were only available for 4 per cent of the projects.

“Regarding to his open tender claims, the reality is that about 95 per cent from the overall projects went through open tender basis,” Uggah said.

A progress chart handed out to the press revealed that as of Sept 12, a total of 223 projects had been completed, 32 projects were on-going and 55 had yet to start.

This, Uggah said, was a far cry from Anwar’s allegations in parliament over a month later.

He revealed that the 228 completed projects cost about RM197 million.

Of the projects yet to start, Uggah said, RM200 million was allocated for Sri Aman Hospital, a further RM200 million for the Batang Sadong Bridge, RM90 million for the Kapit road project and RM28 million for the construction of the Kapit water treatment plant.

Other projects included major road construction in Marudi and Belaga, which would be implemented under the Armed Forces ‘Jiwa Murni’ programme.

Uggah, who has been appointed by Najib to administer all 310 projects, said there is a special project coordination committee for the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister’s Sarawak walkabout projects. The secretariat for the committee is the Implementation and Co-ordination Unit (ICU) under the Prime Minister’s Department.

“The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have no reason to mislead Sarawakians. Our main objective is to solve all development and communication problems of the people as we head to (achieve Vision) 2020.

“I regret the misleading claims of the opposition leader, which would only confuse the people. However, Sarawakians are an intelligent lot and not easily manipulated. The election results clearly proved the confidence of the people in the government because this is from the results of its project implementation,” said Uggah.

He added that the committee has conducted monthly meetings to identify problems with project implementation.

Besides the seven meetings that have been held so far, the committee has also visited Sri Aman Hospital, which resulted in the assigning of two medical specialists to serve the Sri Aman Division from Aug 1.

Another report from The Borneo Post:

‘I don’t know what Anwar was talking about’

KUCHING: Deputy Works Minister Datuk Yong Khoon Seng said yesterday his ministry’s records show that over 90 per cent of projects scheduled for every Malaysia Plan (MP) has been accomplished.

As such he had no idea where PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim got the record in his claim that 92 per cent of 310 projects approved for the state had not been implemented.

Yong, who is also Stampin MP, added he could not verify Anwar’s statement as not all development projects came under the Ministry of Works.

He explained to reporters covering the closing of an accounting workshop here that the Ministry of Works took care of the construction and maintenance of federal roads, multi-purpose buildings and bridges, while other development projects were handled by other ministries.

“Not all projects are under our jurisdiction. For instance, rural roads, water, and electricity supplies go to the Ministry of
Rural and Regional Development, school projects to the Education Ministry, and police headquarters works fall under the Home Ministry.

“So, I don’t know what Anwar meant by 92 per cent not completed,” he said.

To a question, Yong declined to offer advice for the opposition leader as he believed Anwar blurted out his claim simply for political mileage.

“It’s okay, this is politics. Whatever he wants to say, by all means, except that I don’t want to ‘cakap sebarang’ (do baseless utterance),” he said.

Ninety-six students, who will be sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, attended the three-day workshop jointly organised by the Saberkas Third Mile and Stapok Unit.

In his speech, Yong advised these students to pursue higher education after the public examinations.

“Do not stop at SPM level as there is still a long way to go. Go for tertiary studies after the exams and make yourself a professional who can better contribute towards nation-building,” he said.

Among those present were Saberkas Third Mile Unit chairman Melson Chai and Stapok Unit chairman Tan Hun Seang.