SINGAPORE: A Malaysian Member of Parliament weighed in on the recent Taylor Swift concerts in Singapore, which had their share of controversy after it was revealed that the biggest pop star in the world had signed an exclusivity contract to bring her Eras Tour to no other Southeast Asian country.
Datuk Larry Sng, who has been serving as MP for Julau in Sarawak since May 2018, lauded the success of Singapore’s sold-out The Eras Tour concert and said, “Sarawak can follow what Singapore did. There is a need for Sarawak to emulate such strategy to maximise the benefits for its people,” the malaymail reported.
He also opined, however, in a March 17 (Sunday) Facebook post that if Malaysia had also spent the kind of money Singapore had in bringing in Swift’s concerts, the opposition “would find all ways and means to oppose and make this a religious issue.”
“That to me is why Malaysia is lagging behind other countries in the region. Everything is somehow tied to race or religion,” added Mr Sng.
As for Sarawak, “we don’t have these hang ups and we just focus on what needs to be done for the people…” the MP declared.
He also posted a photo of Swift on stage, bearing the caption, “Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour in Singapore has profited about RM1.7 billion (S$482 million) in tourism.”
The MP noted his state’s “abundant resources and wealth” and cautioned that state leaders “need to be cautious about over spending especially on unnecessary mega projects that benefits (sic) certain interest groups more so than the people.”
For example, he cited the plan to build two power transmission lines, one to Singapore and the other to West Malaysia, “when one is probably sufficient.”
Mr Sng went on to say that this is one of the reasons for the “huge debts” Malaysia owes, which he called a problem that the country’s future generations “will inherit from our bad decisions.”
He ended his post by saying he would prefer the state government to “look into salvaging the existing sick projects, which I am made to understand runs into billions of ringgit.”
And while he praised his party, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (Sarawak Parties Alliance), saying that he feels it is doing a “good job” on the whole, he added, “I believe they can do better.” /TISG
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