Led by Premier Abang Johari Openg, Sarawak is making moves to cement its status as one of Malaysia’s most important states and has likened itself to the economic powerhouse region of Bavaria in Germany.
Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg posing for a photo at his office in Kuching on Aug 20, 2024. KUCHING: In a lounge on the highest floor of the Wisma Bapa administrative building near downtown Kuching in Malaysia ’s Sarawak state, the walls are black and marble with ornate gold trims.
In recent years, Sarawak has retaken Bintulu Port from the federal government, bought over regional airline MASwings from the national flag carrier Malaysia Airlines, and is in the final stages of acquiring a controlling stake in Affin Bank.These moves are necessary for Sarawak to “go forward”, while the state’s riches mean it can afford to give back to its people, Mr Abang Johari said in a wide-ranging interview with CNA in August.
Mr Abang Johari acknowledged that the steep costs of tertiary education have long hampered poor families from sending their promising children to university. In the years that followed, Mr Abang Johari held various ministerial portfolios, including industrial development, tourism and housing, before he was appointed deputy chief minister in 2016.
The “thrust” of Mr Abang Johari’s administration is the development of emission-free green technology, his office said on its website, noting that he had formed a research council to look into hydrogen application and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.Sarawak has advanced rapidly since four of its parties pulled out of the once-dominant Barisan Nasional after the coalition’s unprecedented defeat at the 2018 General Election.
With that said, Mr Abang Johari is aiming for Sarawak to be the second highest contributor to Malaysia’s gross domestic product before the next state polls due by 2026. “We are getting investment to Sarawak, and the benefits will be shared with the investors as well as the Sarawak government or, for that matter, Sarawak as a whole.”
These are the Curtin University Malaysia Sarawak Campus, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, University Technology Sarawak, Centre of Technology Excellence Sarawak, and i-CATS University College. “Is there some hidden problem with the Sarawak government’s financial situation that it can now no longer come up with the fund?” he was quoted as saying in an Aug 29 Dayak Daily report.
i-CATS University College’s new aerospace degree programme welcomed its first batch of students in September, and Mr Abang Johari told CNA that Sarawak is working with the United States and the United Kingdom to bring in capable instructors in this field. Sarawak has supplied power to Indonesia’s West Kalimantan for the past five years, and there are plans to share it with Sabah, Brunei and Singapore, putting Sarawak at the centre of a potential Southeast Asian electricity grid, Mr Abang Johari said.Analysis: How Sarawak manages to pass two landmark laws in Malaysia, even ahead of the federal government
Singapore’s Energy Market Authority told CNA that it has not issued conditional approval for the plan to import electricity from Sarawak, and that it cannot share more details due to commercial sensitivities. “We are working closely with the Singapore government as well as the Singapore private sector, which will enhance the economic collaboration between Singapore and Sarawak.”Mr Abang Johari said Sarawak also plans to supply power to the rest of Kalimantan, including in East Kalimantan where Indonesia’s planned new capital Nusantara is located.
“As far as our relationship with Indonesia goes, with West Kalimantan particularly and the rest of Kalimantan, there is a common platform between Indonesia and our side, and it's doing quite well.” The company - which first started out as an oil and gas company before pivoting to infrastructure - said the US$70 billion project would involve routes of more 1,600km served by trains travelling up to 350kmh.
The parties were Mr Abang Johari’s Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, Parti Rakyat Sarawak, Progressive Democratic Party, and Sarawak United People's Party. The parties would also form GPS, he said.Mr Abang Johari told CNA that the decision to leave BN allowed the parties to “concentrate on our own state”.
Dr Arnold Puyok, a senior lecturer in politics and government studies at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, attributed Sarawak’s political stability to its emphasis on religious inclusivity and pragmatic governance, which prioritises development and socioeconomic needs over the peninsula’s ethnic nationalism and religious rhetoric.
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