KUCHING: Newly-appointed Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should be given time to settle down before proceeding with his tasks, including looking into the needs of Sarawak, said Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg (pix).
Abang Johari said while the support of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) that he led had helped pave the way for Muhyiddin to become the prime minister, GPS was not in a hurry to pursue its requests to the new Federal leader.
“He just took his oath of office. Give him time to settle down,“ he told reporters after making a working visit to Serikin, a border village located about 60km from here.
Muhyddin was sworn in today as the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur following a week-long political impasse after the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government collapsed on Monday.
Abang Johari said though the Federal leadership had changed, GPS would not concede Sarawak’s demands for its rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 to be restored.
“That is why we supported Muhyiddin and at the same time our Sarawak’s interest is uppermost,“ he said.
Asked on why GPS ditched its support for Dr Mahathir to continue as prime minister, Abang Johari said the former had not been consistent in his stand.
“Initially we supported Tun Mahathir and after that he resigned. And then he resigned from Bersatu. Later he rejoined, left, right, left, right ... what do you expect,“ he said.
Meanwhile, he said the State Government planned to build a Customs,Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex this year in Serikin which is located near the Malaysian-Indonesian border as a move to regulate trade and border movements there.
He said the latest trade volume recorded at Serikin was about RM40 million and this reflected the urgency to set up the CIQ complex at an estimated cost of RM10 million.
“In addition, we are going to upgrade the road linking Serikin to the border point and will decide whether to get the State or the Federal government to allocate funds for this project,“ he added. - Bernama
