Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/4/28/nation/14085233&sec=nation
Friday April 28, 2006
Choose wisely, says Taib
By JACK WONG
KUCHING: Never fall for sweet talk.
This is Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s message as politicians start to woo voters for the May 20 election.
He said it was normal in an election for some quarters to say that the best thing to do was to ask the Government for everything and give nothing in return.
A country where everything is free is a country without progress.
A society like this is going to be stagnant. If you follow people who sweet talk, you will have a backward Sarawak, he said at the Kuching Old Market Community Associations 10th anniversary dinner on Wednesday.
Taib said that if the state did not collect land premiums, royalties on timber and mining, it would not have the means to fund development projects and provide other public amenities.
He said the state plans to spend RM5bil annually during the Ninth Malaysia Plan (2006 to 2010) to carry out development projects.
The Federal Government would contribute RM15bil while RM10bil would come from the state coffers for the five-year funding.
Taib advised the business community not to get involved in politicking and blaming the government whenever situations don’t go their way. I dislike quarrels. Less politicking means less quarrels and less jealousy in politics.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam and Padungan incumbent assemblyman Lily Yong Lee Lee, who also spoke, urged the people to rally behind the Barisan Nasional.