Sunday 3 August 2014

Karim dismisses news portal’s ‘independence survey’

August 3, 2014




Abdul Karim (left) and wife with Fatimah (fifth right), Adi (third right) and family and Talip and Zaliha at his Hari Raya Open House at Jalan Astana.


KUCHING: Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah lashes out at a news portal for claiming that 97 per cent of people of Sarawak want their state to cede from Malaysia based on its survey.

He said statistical findings based on improper surveys could not be used as reflection of the people’s feeling.

“I was made to understand that this portal merely asked 100 people- 50 from Sarawak and 50 from Sabah and who are those 50 from Sarawak? If they were ask people from Asajaya,I think all of them will say ‘no’ to getting out of Malaysia,” he said when met at his Hari Raya Open House in Jalan Astana here yesterday.


People from different areas would give different answers so a survey must be done professionally covering a cross section of the people.

He also refuted claims by the news portal that Sarawak was not developed as being very subjective as they should compare the state now to 15 to 20 years ago.

“There are so many changes in Sarawak, take for example Bintulu 20 years ago only had 5,000 people and now it has 250,000 people. Samarahan areas 20 years ago were accessible only by sea and now it takes less than an hour’s drive to get to the area.

“It is wrong to say that we are undeveloped,” he said.

Karim believed the survey was carried out to instigate discord between Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur. Karim was asked to comment on a report by social media and portal that 97 per cent of Sarawakians want Sarawak to be out of Malaysia and 43 per cent of Sabahans agreed to it.

Among the guests who visited him at his Hari Raya Open House were Minister Of Housing and Tourism Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg and wife Datin Amar Juma’ani Tun Tuanku Bujang, Minsiter of Insfrastructure and Communication Dato Sri Michael Manyin, Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah and husband Datu Adi Badiozaman, Assistant Minister of Tourism Datuk Talip Zulpilip and wife Datin Dr Zaliha Abdullah, Permanent Secretary to Ministry of Tourism Datu Ik Pahon, businessmen, community leaders and sport and members of youth associations.

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