KUCHING: Batu Kitang assemblyman Datuk Lo Khere Chiang has hit back at critics from the opposition, accusing them of hypocrisy for condemning the Sarawak government both for spending state funds and for not spending enough, while failing to secure federal allocations when they were part of the federal government.
In a statement, Lo said that healthcare is a federal responsibility, but the Sarawak government is financing the Sarawak Cancer Centre.
“Healthcare is a federal responsibility. Yet it is the Sarawak government that is financing the Sarawak Cancer Centre first, to ensure our people do not need to leave their families and fly to Kuala Lumpur for treatment.”
He urged the Stampin MP and his colleagues in Putrajaya to use their federal positions to obtain operating and development funds from the federal government instead of asking Sarawakians to “pay again” using the state’s own reserves.
Lo said a similar double standard was evident in the issue of public transport.
“Penang’s LRT is fully funded by the federal government. But when Sarawak builds the ART system using our own resources, suddenly they say it is unnecessary,” he pointed out.
He also criticised opposition leaders for claiming that the increase in State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats was wasteful.
“They say it is to ‘save money,’ yet they do not fight for Sarawak to receive fair federal development allocations based on our size, geography, and contribution to the nation.
“If saving money was truly their principle, they would be demanding higher federal funding, not blocking Sarawak’s development.”
Lo stressed that the Sarawak government spends because it cannot afford to wait for federal action.
“Cancer patients cannot wait. Rural families cannot wait. Our students and our children’s future cannot wait,” he said.
