00:00A rich state with poor people.
00:03This is how Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chiang Jien described the state when highlighting
00:08the glaring disconnect between its vast wealth and the poverty faced by many of its people.
00:14The biggest irony in Sarawak is that Sarawak government's revenue is the richest, highest
00:20amongst all the states.
00:23Sarawak government's revenue is around 14B, yet that does not translate into the income
00:31of the people.
00:32Sarawak recorded a revenue of RM14.187 billion in 2024, the highest in the state's history.
00:41In comparison, Selangor recorded RM2.8 billion in state revenue, while Penang brought in RM810.46
00:48million.
00:50Yet according to the statistics department, as of July 2023, Sarawak had the third highest
00:55poverty rate in the country at 10.8% behind Sabah and Kelantan.
01:01Chong attributed the state's social inequality to two things, a fundamental failure in governance
01:07and a lack of equitable wealth distribution.
01:10The free education is provided to only those studying in the four universities owned by the
01:17state government.
01:18If you go to study other private universities in the country or outside the country, the
01:25government will not provide for it.
01:27With 14 billion of revenue, definitely you can afford to provide tertiary education to all
01:37Sarawakians, regardless whether they are studying in Sarawak government-owned universities.
01:45Another example of what Chong called wasteful spending was the construction of a flagpole
01:50near the state legislative assembly building in Petrajaya, which reportedly cost RM30 million.
01:56He said that with such indiscreet spending, Sarawak needs a stronger opposition to provide a check
02:03and oversight on the state.
02:07Nairam Tharaja, FMT.
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