By Simon Peter
KUCHING, Nov 14, 2014: For Sarawak to thrive, for all its
people in the rural and urban areas to prosper, the state must have leaders of integrity who
place the interests of the people before their personal gain.
"We need a government that is competent, accountable
and transparent," Sarawak PKR chief and well-known land rights lawyer Baru
Bian said at the "Special Leaders Forum: The Future of Sarawak"
held in conjunction with the Sarawak
Business Summit yesterday.
In his paper presented at the special leaders forum, Baru,
who is the State lawmaker for Ba'Kelalan, spoke of his vision for Sarawak in
the next 20 years.
He said his vision for Sarawak is to have it free from the
scourge of corruption so that all Sarawakians may begin to truly progress and
develop, not just a select few.
"Corruption has been allowed to continue unabated
because of the complacency and the hypocrisy of those who are in a position to
make a difference or perhaps their indifference and lack the will to make a
difference," he added.
He said if corruption is eradicated, then all the issues
which he has raised will sort themselves out given time and political will.
"Perhaps we should ponder and ask ourselves why
Singapore has progressed so much while we remain so backward. At one time our
currency was stronger than Singapore.
"Why Japan can rebuild from the ruins of the bombs to
become a superpower? In fact we have more natural resources than Singapore and
Japan," he said.
He applauded the new Chief Minister Adenan Satem for
signing the integrity pledge and for declaring that he and his family members
will not engage in any business activity.
"I hope the rest of his Cabinet and their family
members will take the queue from there," he said, adding:" I want to
see a truly independent Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) who is equipped with the
appropriate resources and requisite authority."
He said the most
destructive factor in the equation is corruption, saying that discussion at the
special leaders forum is not complete without taking a good look at corruption
in Sarawak and the high costs of corruption.
He added corruption is one of the main obstacles to
sustainable economic, political and social development, for developing,
emerging and developed economies alike.
"Overall, corruption reduces efficiency and
increases inequality, increases the cost of doing business, leads to waste or
the inefficient use of public resources, excludes poor people from public
services and perpetuates poverty.
"Corruption corrodes public trust, undermines the
rule of law and ultimately delegitimises the state," he said.
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