Their destiny should not be decided by somebody else, The Borneo Post quoted him as saying.

Although he did not say it, Abang Johari was clearly alluding to Putrajaya. Sarawakians have increasingly been clamouring for greater control over their resources and administration.

Abang Johari said it was up to the state government of the day to create policies that were Sarawak-centric, that would harness its full potential and that were focused on the immediate and strategic needs of the state.

To do this, he said, Sarawak must have greater autonomy over its own destiny.

He was launching the International ICT Infrastructure and Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (Idecs) 2017 here yesterday.

“We were told in the past that it is better to export our oil and gas because they fetch good prices in the export market, and to use the proceeds to subsidise the prices of imported oil and gas that we use at home.

“Eventually, it was argued that subsidies are not good for the development of a competitive economy. The subsidies are now removed.

“So we are left in a situation where we have oil and gas and cannot fully enjoy the benefit of having oil and gas. This cannot be,” Abang Johari was quoted as saying by The Borneo Post.

Given this situation, he said, it was of strategic importance that Sarawak used as much as possible of its energy resources for its own economic development and industrialisation.

This strategy had already been started with the buying back of the Bakun Dam, he said.

“As a strategic asset, the Bakun Dam has major positive consequences for our economy. We are confident that the growth of our power sector will continue to drive the growth of our economy in the years to come.

“The same funding model applies to the Murum Dam and the coming Baleh Dam. This is where the signing of major off-takers of the energy is important for the commercial viability of the hydro projects,” The Borneo Post quoted him as saying.

He said Sarawak’s main challenge was building basic infrastructure systems critically needed by the economy.

“We have infrastructure that is geared towards the export of oil and gas, timber and palm oil but we still do not have a sufficient infrastructure system for the export of agricultural produce and other products of our local villages,” he was quoted as saying.

“We do not have a good infrastructure system for the development of our entrepreneurs to enable them to be innovative and creative and market new products for the world.”

He also said Sarawak did not have a proper infrastructure system for the digital economy.