SIBU: The Sarawak government delivers on its mandate rather than making empty promises during elections, says Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee.
The Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development noted that this is evident through various initiatives launched by the state government under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“For instance, our PTPTN repayment initiative, where the government has paid RM100 million, benefiting approximately 22,000 graduates. We never promised that during the election.
“I assure you, having contested in elections for three or four terms, that we (GPS) never made such promises. But once we received the mandate, we implemented it.
“We do not make empty promises,” he said at the programme to promote state government schools in Sarawak, organised by the Selangau District Education Office here on Thursday (Feb 27).
Meanwhile, on the programme, Dr Annuar said this was the fifth event held across Sarawak to further promote the Yayasan Sarawak International Secondary School (YSISS) as well as to educate the public on the state government education initiatives.
He emphasised that education falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government, including the provision of funding to repair dilapidated schools and other related matters.
“If we were to follow protocol, the Sarawak government should not interfere, but we cannot place the responsibility entirely on the federal government.
“We (Malaysia) have been independent for more than 60 years, yet 90 per cent of schools in Sarawak were built before independence and are now in a dilapidated state.
“Therefore, we intervened. One of our initiatives was the RM1 billion payment to the federal government in 2019 to repair dilapidated schools in the state.
“We paid in advance solely to ensure that these schools in Sarawak are refurbished. Currently, there are four or five schools in Selangau, with three completed while the others are still undergoing repairs.”
However, Dr Annuar acknowledged that school repair works are not an easy task.
Therefore, he hopes that not only educators but also the people of Sarawak will support the government and remain patient with the progress.
