KUCHING: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Dato Sri Dr James Masing wants more funds for research on alternative energy like solar, wind and biodiesel from jatropha to combat the high cost of living, especially in rural areas.

The funds for research, he said can be sourced from the substantial sum given out as subsidies.

However, he was quick to point out that his suggestion should not be interpreted as depriving the people of subsidies because only a certain percentage was required for research.

Masing, who is Land Development Minister and Baleh assemblyman said he wanted a better and more meaningful utilisation of federal funds, especially when it comes to helping poor rural folks.

“We should perhaps fork out a percentage from our subsidies for the topping up of research funds. Currently, subsidies are to solve problems temporarily but it is not the answer to our future,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday when asked his wish list in relation to the National Budget for 2009.

“Taking out a percentage from subsidies must not be seen as depriving people of money. In the long run, subsidies are not the answer to our problems. I was told that the government spent billions of ringgit on subsidies,” he added.

“As we would be needing alternatives to fossil fuel, research on alternative fuel must be intensified. I hope the federal government will allocate more funds for research on alternative fuel like biodiesel, jatropha, wind and solar,” he said, adding that it didn’t matter which alternative fuel we use at the end of it all.

On behalf of the rural people, Masing said his other wish was that there would be more funds from the national budget for infrastructure like roads, electricity and clean (or treated) water supply.

“If we can have more of these three basic items for the rural people, I am happy,” he added.

Asked how much funds would be required for infrastructural development and research, Masing said the sum would be “quite substantial like a few billion ringgit even within the Ninth Malaysia Plan”.

He said should the sum turn out to be less than ideal, the government must start doing the right thing, at least slowly from now.

“We have got to start from somewhere,” added Masing.

He is not the only political party leader to respond.

Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan said drastic improvement on rice production is imperative now that importers of

rice were becoming concerned about being self-sufficient.

Malaysia, particularly Sarawak, has decided to be less dependent on other countries for rice, said Dr Chan who is Deputy Chief Minister.

“I hope there will be more allocation for Sarawak to improve rice production as we embark on becoming self-sufficient,” said Dr Chan who is also Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture and Minister of Industrial Development.

On industrial development, Dr Chan said some of the state’s products were still not competitive enough compared to those from West Malaysia.

But the situation could be improved by having better logistic facilities, he added.

“I hope there will be more allocations to improve logistics in Sarawak. Our products are not so competitive compared to those from West Malaysia because of higher transportation cost, including shipping charges,” he said.

He also pointed out that Sarawak was still lagging behind major states in West Malaysia in terms of infrastructural development.

The development gap between rural and urban areas can be narrowed with the building of more infrastructure, he suggested.

“I hope the federal government will consider all these aspects before drawing up the National Budget 2009,” he said.

Opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) State Liaison chief Dominique Ng said his wish for the Budget was to see an increase in oil royalty for Sarawak from the current five per cent to at least 20 per cent.

He said the government should also beef up the police force so they would provide more efficient service.

“With more personnel, the police can do more frequent patrols of the districts in Sarawak,” said the Padungan assemblyman.

Padungan would surely need more police patrols, he said.

“The Padungan police station is still short of nine staff. It now has 20 staff,” he claimed.

“But I estimated that there should be around 50 personnel in Padungan now as the area is a vibrant centre of Kuching city and active for almost 24 hours with various activities,” he said.

The government, too, should undertake to improve public transportation services in major towns, he added.

“At the moment, public transportation is almost non-existent here compare to big cities like Kuala Lumpur. Here we can only see a few buses and their trips are not so frequent,” he claimed.

Since the Sarawak General Hospital is overcrowded with patients from all over the state and in view of the rising population, it is urgent to have another public-run hospital, he pointed out.

“But my biggest wish is for Pakatan Rakyat to form the next state government. It may be soon and I expect the next state election to be as early as next year,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will table the National Budget for 2009 on Aug 29.