KUALA LUMPUR: Assistant Minister for Youth Development (Urban Areas) Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has criticised the opposition in Sarawak for not grooming the next generation’s leaders, contrary to PBB’s grooming process.
He said “one or so of those sitting from across us in the Dewan (State Legislative Assembly) are in their 20s and elected because of sentiments, yet they don’t know the procedures and how the laws are made.”
In PBB, he said young leaders were groomed for years before they ascend the political ladder.
“Rome wasn’t built in one day. Grooming is the process that we have to go through to progress. In PBB, we have our grooming process. Like me, I was the Youth leader only (when) I was 40 years old.
“But before that, I had been active in politics. I joined PBB at 30. The same goes for others like Saidol and Alexander Linggi who were also groomed,” he said at the Lan Berambeh Anak Sarawak 2015 Forum at Putra World Trade Centre here yesterday.
Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg, who was also a panelist at the forum, said PBB had 10 new candidates in every election.
He pointed out that the party always paved the way for the younger generation who could succeed in what their predecessors have achieved.
“Politics is something you cannot learn (overnight). You must have the wisdom and go through the process. This is why politics in Sarawak is so stable because a lot of our youths are trained.”
Before the forum concluded, at least 10 minutes were allocated for questions from the floor. A man who hailed from Kuching but has been working in KL for seven years, asserted that Sarawak ought to ask for more than 20 per cent of oil royalty from the federal government.
“Five per cent is plain mockery and ridiculous to us. Twenty per cent is not enough. There should be at least 50 per cent.”
Responding to this, Abang Johari said “We are mature Sarawakians and we know how to negotiate.”
He said Petronas already granted contracts worth over RM2 billion to Sarawak while negotiation to increase oil royalty would take time.
Adding to that, Karim said: “This is why we want all of you to be united and together we come in one voice and negotiate.”
A university student, a ‘Jerome from Satok, Kuching’ asked how far the state government had proceeded with attaining full autonomy in education.
Abang Johari described his question as important before replying: “Education is under Federal List but the Sarawak state government feels that we want to have a certain ‘say’ in education.”
He said the chief minister had requested that 90 per cent of teachers in Sarawak should be Sarawakians, and this would be done in three years.
“For our Chinese students, Sarawak government has recognised UEC with the condition that BM must be a credit.”
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