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Borneo Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- Borneo Post
Dismissal of motion to review Premier, Cabinet's travel expenses a ‘planned charade', says Chong
Chong says what the Speaker did earlier today has undermined the function of the DUN on providing an oversight on the Executives. – Photo by Roystein Emmor KUCHING (May 28): Padungan assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen is unhappy that a motion submitted by him at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) was dismissed by Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar. In a statement, he said what the Speaker did earlier today has undermined the function of the DUN on providing an oversight on the Executives. 'The main reason it has come to such is because of the overpowering 80-2 majority the GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) enjoys in the DUN sitting. If such unbalanced government to opposition ratio continues, more extravagance and wastage of public funds will be kept from public eyes and swept under the carpet,' said the Democratic Action Party Sarawak chairman. He was referring to the motion seeking review of the Speaker's decision to disallow the question by Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong on the detailed expenses of the Premier and Cabinet ministers official overseas trips. Asfia had cited multiple procedural and substantive breaches under the DUN's Standing Orders in dismissing the motion. Chong was also unhappy that Asfia allowed Wilfred Yap (GPS-Kota Sentosa) to speak on the motion without even allowing him, the mover of the motion, to start debate on it. He described this as a 'planned charade'. 'He (Asfia) seems to have subscribed to the claim by ADUN for Kota Sentosa that I should go and ask the Prime Minister on the expenses of the Prime Minister and federal Cabinet ministers' official oversea trips. For the information of the Speaker and the ADUN for Kota Sentosa, information of the expenses of the Prime Minister and the federal ministers' official trip has been made public in a parliament answer. 'If the federal government can reply such a question in Parliament, there is no justification why the state government cannot reply such a question in DUN. The Speaker's reliance on foreign investment to justify the huge oversea trips expenditure of the state ministers is misplaced,' he said. He pointed out in the supplementary supply bill for 2025, it was mentioned the Premier's office alone needed RM100 million as its 'rental for air-chartered service'. He said that figure does not even include the expenses for official oversea trips of the other 10 ministers and 26 deputy ministers. 'Last year, the Ministry of Local Government, Housing and Public Health alone, sought additional RM3 million for overseas trips. 'Even taking the Premier's office's RM100 million rental of air-chartered expenditure alone without counting the overseas trips of other ministries, it is still too extravagant given that the whole of the federal cabinet's oversea trips in 2024 was only RM44 million,' he said. Chong was referring to the ruling by Asfia on May 26 in dismissing a question by Yong concerning the overseas travel expenses. Asfia had stated that the costs involved were merely a 'pittance' and 'trivial' compared to the billions in foreign investments the state has successfully attracted. 'If we compare the foreign investment, the country attracted a total RM378.5 billion while Sarawak attracted RM14.12 billion – 3.7 per cent of the country's FDI. In contrast, the RM100 million is more than double the RM44 million spent by the whole federal cabinet on oversea trips,' he said.
Borneo Post
18-05-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
DUN Speaker: Six Bills to be tabled at DUN sitting from May 19 to 28
Asfia (centre) holds up the prepared text of his statement delivered during the press conference. Also seen are Idris (left) and Nur Azhar. KUCHING (May 18): A total of six Bills are scheduled to be tabled during the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting, which will convene for eight days from tomorrow (May 19) to May 28 at the DUN Complex here, said DUN Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar today. According to him, the six Bills include two Supplementary Supply Bills – the Supplementary Supply (2024) Bill, 2025, and the Supplementary Supply (2025) Bill, 2025. Also slated for tabling are the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Land Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Local Authorities (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Infrastructure Development Trust Fund (Dissolution) Bill, 2025. 'Two of the Bills are supplementary supply Bills, while the others involve amendments to existing laws, with the exception of the Bill concerning the dissolution of the Development Infrastructure Trust Fund,' he said during a press conference at the DUN Complex new media room here. He revealed that the Supplementary Supply (2024) Bill, 2025, the Supplementary Supply (2025) Bill, 2025, and the Infrastructure Development Trust Fund (Dissolution) Bill, 2025 will be tabled by Deputy Premier and Minister for Finance and New Economy, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas. The Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2025 on the other hand, will be tabled by Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn. 'The Land Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025 will be presented by Deputy Premier and Second Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan. 'Deputy Premier and Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government, Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, will table the Local Authorities (Amendment) Bill, 2025,' he said. Apart from that, Asfia also disclosed that 320 questions have been submitted by 41 assemblymen, comprising 247 oral questions and 73 written ones and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Port Development and the Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government received the highest number of questions. Although no private member's Bills or motions were submitted for this sitting, a motion for the election of a member to the Dewan Negara (Senate) will however be tabled on the fourth day of the sitting on May 22. 'The opening ceremony of the sitting will be officiated by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak, Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, on Monday, May 19 at 9am, with Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Fauziah Mohd Sanusi also in attendance,' he said. Also present at the press conference were DUN Deputy Speaker Dato Idris Buang and DUN Secretary Nur Azhar Bujang. DUN sitting Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar tabling Bill
