Sarawak ministers pledge total support for CM in war against graft

MIRI: The state cabinet ministers in Sarawak have pledged their total support towards the war on corruption in this state.

All the state ministers had pledged their total backing for Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem's effort to stamp out every form of corrupt practices, said state senior minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan (pic).

Tengah said that every state ministers in the cabinet have said that they will support Adenan's effort and that they will give their full cooperation and play their part in trying to tackle the corruption menace.

Tengah, who is also State Second Minister of Planning and Resources Management, said the war on corruption started by Adenan will not only be aimed at illegal logging, but also at the illegal gambling syndicates and other forms of corrupt practices in other sectors.

Speaking at the Shell-Kenyalang press award on Friday night at a hotel in Miri City Saturday, he said the State Cabinet acknowledged that corruption is a serious menace in Sarawak.

"This is a menace that we must all tackle together. Sarawak is not founded on corruption and it will never have its foundation in corrupt practices.

"All of us in the state cabinet support the CM in his fight against corruption in all sectors, not just in illegal logging and illegal gambling.

"The press plays an important role in this. We hope that they will report accurately and fairly," he said.

Earlier, Tengah, when reading out Adenan's message to the gathering at the press award, said that the state government appreciates the role of the various medias, whether print or electronic medias, in the development of Sarawak.

Adenan said that the press have widespread influence in state and country.

He pointed out that when he recently took to task illegal loggers in the state, some medias had interpreted it to mean that he was singling out the six major timber firms in the state as being corrupted.

Adenan said that this was not the case and that his remarks against corrupted practices was a general comment against all who indulged in corruption, not specifically the six companies.

He said that social medias are very powerful as they can disseminate information very rapidly through cyberspace.

"In today's world where social media on the Internet is the norm, everybody can become reporters of sort.

"That is why we need genuine reporters who are only interested in the truth and facts.

"The principle of reporting accurately and fairly was something that journalists adhered to in the good old days, like 50 years ago.

"Journalists today must uphold such principles to be sincere journalists," he stressed.

During the ceremony, Tengah handed over a cheque of RM50,000 to the federation of journalist association in Sarawak on behalf of Adenan.

Adenan pledged the RM 50,000 on behalf of the state government towards helping the journalists association in Sarawak to continue with their activities for the coming year.