Kudos to our young entrepreneurs on their business initiatives

 I gave my thumbs up to our local youth entrepreneurs who organised various business events and activities that showcase a variety of their products and services. Last weekend I was invited by the youth section of the Dewan Usahawan Bumiputera Sarawak or DUBS to their inaugural "Roombark Bundle and Food Fest" which was held at State Perpaduan Negeri Sarawak in Petra Jaya. The atmosphere there was great because a lot of our local folks especially the young came to support their peers who participated in the weekend event supported by Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development (MYSED).

In my speech, I urged our young entrepreneurs to think out of the box and leverage on the latest information communication technology (ICT) especially the widespread use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, Youtube etc. This will facilitate the promotion, sales and marketing of their range of products and services via online interactions with Netizens including potential customers. The establishment of the new portfolio in entrepreneur development in my ministry augurs well in our objectives in encouraging our young folks to create their own jobs and business opportunities. One of the ways for our youths to move forward in getting income security is through entrepreneurship and our State Government via MYSED will play its role to facilitate the development of youth entrepreneurship in Sarawak.   

Sarawak X-Tive to be launched on March 5 in Gedong

I gave the thumbs up to Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Sarawak (MYSED) for organising our inaugural "Sarawak X-Tive" which a sports related event which can be seen our own version of National Sports Day or HSN. It is scheduled to be launched on March 5 in Gedong and simultaneously in 12 other locations throughout Sarawak.

The event is expected to be officially launched by our Right Honourable Chief Minister, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Abang Haji Openg with our local folks in Gedong are going to join the exciting event. The targeted number of participants at the divisional levels is 500 per venue which include Kuching, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, Betong, Sibu, Sarikei, Mukah, Kapit, Bintulu, Miri and Limbang.

There will be four main activities to be held during the event namely fitness, recreational, extreme and traditional sports. Other popular sporting events that will be organised on the day are fun rides, aerobics, zumba, autoshow, futsal, wall climbing, water sports, sepak raga bulatan, esports, boat racing, arm wrestling and many others tailored to the local community’s favourites.

Basically Sarawak X-tive is an initiative to cultivates sports for its value, well-being, active lifestyle and unity of our community. By having more community related events,  the involvement of our youths be fostered especially in sports. Thus, this will help steer them away or avoid negative social issue. We always believe that together we must inculcate sports culture as a daily practice in our society because it can lead to the creation of a larger group of diverse local sports talents and raise Sarawak at national and international levels. Together we can help Sarawak government’s efforts towards becoming a sport powerhouse at the national level but also create various employment opportunities to local folks.

No decision yet to the proposed reopening of Sarawak's borders come March 1

We have yet to decide with regards to the National Recovery Council’s (NRC) proposal to fully reopen our country’s borders on March 1. I had expressed my views to our media friends this morning on this matter which is expected to revive the State’s economic sector if we were to follow NRC's recommendations. Such decisions actually falls under the authority of Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) but in my personal opinion, it is the right time to do so. This is because many countries have already opened up their international borders...if we do not follow, we may be in trouble. Hence, I fully welcome NRC’s proposal, and it should be done without the mandatory quarantine. It will essentially boost our own Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS2030) because it helps to boost the various sectors which were badly hit by the pandemic the past two years.

I have asserted the fact that although the number of new positive cases have reached over 20,000 lately, Sarawak is one of the states with highest rates in the country in terms of vaccinated population including booster shots. Covid is here to stay and we have to accept the fact that we are living with it and the new norm. As long as we are vaccinated, we do not have to be too worried but we must instil awareness on the need to strictly adhere to all standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and SDMC. I am not saying that vaccinations, including the booster dose will prevent you from getting the virus but it will be milder (in terms of symptoms). That is why everyone must be reminded and to put their respective responsibility and efforts in complying with the SOP and safety. I am also advocating for the continue usage of the e-Health declaration form as the form can be approved online almost immediately. On the other hand, I strongly disagrees to requiring potential visitors to submit their applications through the EnterSarawak apps. This is because the apps is processed manually where SDMC gets a lot of applications on daily basis. With just a few staff available to process the applications, they are unable to cope, causing a large backlog of applications, as well as frustration and anger for applicants.

Sarawak Legislative Assembly is the highest lawmaking body here if compared to Dewan Bahasa Pustaka

We disagree with the suggestion made by Dewan Bahasa Pustaka (DBP) board of control chairman, Prof Datuk Awang Sariyan who recently advised us to reconsider its decision to use ‘Premier’ to address the Right Honourable Chief Minister of Sarawak. I have mentioned to our media friends that Sarawak has the right to rename the designation of Chief Minister to ‘Premier’ as the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill 2022 was passed by the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) which is the highest lawmaking body in Sarawak. 

The Bill that passed and was done in the highest lawmaking body in Sarawak (DUN) if compared to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. I have also reasoned that there were long term implications to the use of the term, one of which was creating the perception that there was a prime minister at the state level. 

He added that one of the implications was that the concept of federalism, which is the basis of the Malaysian Federation being affected, and this needed to be examined carefully. While the views of DBP are well noted however it is our rights to do so. You have to respect our DUN which the highest lawmaking body here and other language specialists might not concur with Prof Awang Sariyan views. The Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill 2022 to change the designation of the Chief Minister to ‘Premier’ and Assistant Minister to ‘Deputy Minister’ was passed by Sarawak's on February 15 and was passed with more than two-thirds majority when 67 members voted in favour, while six members had opposed it.

Looking forward to the official opening of new Borneo Culture Museum on March 4

Many of local folks are excited with the official opening ceremony of our new Sarawak Museum building which will be officiated by the Yang Dipertuan of Sarawak, His Excellency Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud on 4 March.

The museum had been renamed as "Borneo Culture Museum" and it is the largest in #Malaysia as well as the second largest in Southeast Asia region. I thank the Sarawak Museum Department and the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak for inviting me to the press conference on the opening ceremony of the building held yesterday.

The opening ceremony will also be attended by the Right Honorable Chief Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and other local dignitaries. Among the highlights of the opening ceremony will the project mapping show which will show the "mapping display" on the walls of the museum building to showcase various historical events that had happened in Sarawak. The construction of the museum started in 2014, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic the initial planning has been somewhat disrupted including the transfer of exhibit materials to its new location.

Apart from exhibiting the history of Sarawak and Borneo from pre-history to the 1970s, the new museum will also display pre-historic materials and information on the tribes in our state. On the second floor itself there is an exhibition space with the theme “Love Our River”, specially designed for children’s galleries. This building is different from the old museum because the items on display including the lights are interactive and can follow in the footsteps of visitors and so on. It is unique and will impress visitors who bring along their families and children. The public will only be able to visit the building from March 9 onwards and only 500 visitors are allowed at any one time. For the first three months visitors will not be charged any fees, and after that we will get the Cabinet’s approval on the rate of fees that should be charged or extend the entry period for free. Those who wish to come visit should register online to facilitate the visit.