‘Negara Berkebajikan’ only means to eliminate poverty, say Sarawak PAS Youth
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — Sarawak PAS Youth said today the Negara Berkebajikan (Nation of Care & Opportunity) concept is the only means to liberate the state from poverty and discrimination.
State Youth chief Mohammad Arifiriazulbin Paijo said this is response to Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders who were reported in The Borneo Post yesterday to have dismissed the Islamic party’s credentials in Sarawak.
But Arifiriazulbin said today PAS has “successfully governed” Kedah and Kelantan after Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Jaafar said “we cannot rely on them to take care of the people’s welfare.”
“The data as furnished by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Office clearly shows that Kelantan has fewer incidence of poverty at only 4.8 per cent in comparison to the bountiful state of Sarawak with 5.3 per cent.
“Although Kedah recorded 5.3 per cent incidence of poverty similar to Sarawak in 2009, this PAS state has only 0.8 per cent incidence of hardcore poverty while Sarawak registered 1.0 per cent in hardcore poverty,” he added.
The PAS leader pointed out that Kelantan has “triumphantly reduced its incidence of poverty by 25 per cent from 1989 until 2009 while Sarawak has only been able to reduce this by 16 per cent within the same period”.
He added that contrary to allegations by Sarawak Assistant Minister of Youth Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, PAS has never promoted disunity among the people in the state.
“The only call which PAS is espousing is... for the Sarawak people of all races to unite against the corruption and injustice perpetrated by BN for the past 50 years.”
