KUCHING (July 6): Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg yesterday hinted the state will have an increase in revenue this year.

He said there were ‘signs’ the state’s revenue would surpass last year’s revenue of RM13.1 billion.

“If we can sustain our economy, hopefully our revenue can increase again this year.

“Last year, we recorded RM13.1 billion — this year, maybe, maybe… ada tanda-tandanya (there are signs), our revenue this year will be more than last year,” he said when officiating the closing ceremony of the Land and Survey Sarawak Innovation and Integrity Day (HIITS) at a hotel here.

He said on July 4, the World Bank had recognised and acknowledged Sarawak can still sustain as a high-income state where its Gross National Income (GNI) per capita increased from RM15,000 last year to RM17,000 this year.

“However, we need to translate this to the ordinary citizens — we need to see the household income also increases because we still have pockets of poverty.

“Some individuals compare us with Perlis, which does not experience this issue. However, if we look at these two states, Perlis is just half (the size) of Kuching city.

“Sarawak’s size is more or less the same as the whole of Peninsula Malaysia. Imagine with this size how much money we need to upgrade our infrastructure and education to ensure poverty does not persist or at least is reduced,” he said.