<![CDATA[The Sarawakian]]>

<![CDATA[The Sarawakian]]>https://www.thesarawakian.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DMIk!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1658bec4-6089-44c2-bf36-c308ce92e022_1000x1000.pngThe Sarawakianhttps://www.thesarawakian.comSubstackSun, 31 May 2026 10:30:33 GMT<![CDATA[Borneo Rail Plan Gains Pace]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/borneo-rail-plan-gains-pacehttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/borneo-rail-plan-gains-paceSun, 31 May 2026 00:01:36 GMTIf this confluence of major public holidays has made you forget which day of the week it is, take comfort in this: when The Sarawakian arrives, it is always Sunday.

This issue is very much about the future.

The Trans-Borneo Railway could begin in Bintulu for practical reasons, and that may be a good place to start. The feasibility report is expected in just a few more weeks.

This week’s infographic looks at Malaysia’s falling total fertility rate. Around the world, rising GDP per capita is often accompanied by falling fertility. Malaysia, and Sarawak, are no exceptions. DOSM’s projection for Sarawak’s natural population growth is sobering.

By now, surely we can all take AI for granted. Or can we? I think Sarawakians can be far more assertive in riding the wave, not merely following it.

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You can read A String of Thought here:

Mooreyameen Mohamad

Sarawakians, Step Into the Current

There is a particular way the rest of the world looks at places like ours. A faintly patronising curiosity, as if observing some wasps building a mudhouse. The Ivy League commentators, the Silicon Valley futurists, the global media outlets — they explain AI to the world, and the world, including us, is expected to listen…

3 days ago · 1 like · 1 comment · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Malaysia's Longest River Bridge Opens]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/malaysias-longest-river-bridge-openshttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/malaysias-longest-river-bridge-opensSun, 24 May 2026 00:34:27 GMTSarawak’s landscape is adorned with great rivers, and great rivers demand great bridges. The Batang Lupar No. 1 Bridge has been a long time coming.

As a region bejewelled by islands and great waterways, Southeast Asia is home to some remarkable bridges. The most impressive is Brunei’s Temburong Bridge, formally known as the Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Bridge. Spanning 30km, it allows travellers to bypass four immigration checkpoints between Brunei and Sarawak. This week’s infographic highlights Southeast Asia’s top five longest bridges, plus the new Batang Lupar No. 1 Bridge, which comes in at number 13 in the region.

This week’s news is full of new and shiny things. The Sarawak Science Centre is set to open in a few weeks. Abang Jo seems to be getting more serious about the space economy, starting with the proposed setting up of a Sarawak space agency. And now, we have a unique new coffee hybrid called Libex.

But I had a bit of quiet time this week, and turned my attention to my relationship with my mostly trusty AI assistants, or as I call them, my protégés, in A String of Thought. Let’s compare notes.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

As a regular and quite intense user of AI in all sorts of tasks, I find it quite amusing how many users of AI around me treat their AI tools as specific human characters in their lives – their PA, writer, researcher, designer, planner, organiser, programmer…

7 days ago · 1 like · 1 comment · Mooreyameen Mohamad

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]]><![CDATA[Licensing Reform Pilot Begins]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/licensing-reform-pilot-beginshttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/licensing-reform-pilot-beginsSun, 17 May 2026 00:04:25 GMTOne reason The Sarawakian exists is that Sarawak often has hidden gems that deserve more attention than they receive on national news platforms. There is a quiet transformation taking place here. It may not always be as dramatic as a rocket launch, but it is setting the stage for major changes in Sarawak’s economy and society.

I particularly like this week’s headline about the pilot project to make doing business easier in Sarawak. It could not happen fast enough. That led me to look at the World Bank’s Business Ready report for this week’s infographic. It is plain to see that countries that make it easier to do business generally perform better economically. Click on the infographic for the full report.

Lastly, in A String of Thought, I confront our general dislike of confrontation. This is not a small, negligible personality quirk. Sarawak will not progress fast enough if we do not learn how to put the fish on the table, as some might say.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

The Silence We Mistake for Peace

There is a particular kind of discomfort that settles in the room when someone in Sarawak decides to speak an uncomfortable truth. A contractor misses a deadline. A colleague submits shoddy work. A service provider disappears mid-project. And yet, instead of a direct conversation, we get a polite smile, a non-committal …

14 days ago · 1 like · 1 comment · Mooreyameen Mohamad

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]]><![CDATA[Nanosatellite Launch: 2030]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/nanosatellite-launch-2030https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/nanosatellite-launch-2030Sun, 10 May 2026 00:17:53 GMTThis week, Abang Jo outlined the state’s ambitions to enter the space economy. Orbital space is the new real estate, and Sarawak has many of the necessary elements in place — talent, perhaps, being the notable exception. Something has to change.

In A String of Thought, a reader wrote in to respond to last issue’s headline. I replied, I hope, with some measure of reason.

Speaking of real estate, this week’s infographic compares how land — Sarawak’s defining resource — is used across different countries. The differences are vast.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

The Sarawak Data Centre Question

When the last issue (87) of The Sarawakian carried news of the RM500 million AI data centre deal, it was deemed as a vote of confidence in Sarawak’s digital ambitions. But one letter to the editor, from a Concerned Reader, urged caution, noting that the headline’s triumphant tone may have outshone the need for a closer look at the numbers. The points ra…

24 days ago · 1 like · 1 comment · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[RM500M AI Data Centre Deal]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/rm500m-ai-data-centre-dealhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/rm500m-ai-data-centre-dealSun, 03 May 2026 00:05:00 GMTWould you describe it as ironic the Labour Day holiday creates a four-day work week that forces us to be more effective and efficient last week? Arguments have been made to shorten the work week and experiments done in many places for the past few years for the 4-day work week - but while maintaining productivity and pay of a 5-day work week. With the number of scattered public holidays we have in Malaysia, I would argue we are very well practised.

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Speaking of work efficiency, is Sarawak finally getting its first data centre? The headline says a deal is in the pipeline. Which is a good sign. But it also means we have to get on with strengthening our talent pipeline. This week’s A String of Thought ponders if we are serious about making real progress in that area of attracting the bright and the beautiful.

In anycase, perhaps the UNESCO recognition of the Sarawak Delta as global geopark might help. That’s basically the entire Kuching district plus Bau, Padawan and Siburan thrown in for good measure. We’ve join global club, as the infographic shows.

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You can read A String of Thought here:

Mooreyameen Mohamad

The Bright and the Beautiful

I sometimes fancy myself a conversationalist - someone who can hold their own on almost any topic. At the very least, I can usually muster enough cursory knowledge to ask questions that sound insightful, nudging the conversation forward while quietly concealing the abyss behind them…

a month ago · 1 like · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Growing Green Power]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/growing-green-powerhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/growing-green-powerSat, 25 Apr 2026 23:28:28 GMTAs the whole world deals with the instability caused by the unhinged proceedings in the Middle East, cooler heads elsewhere are looking at alternatives to fossil fuels, particularly in power generation. Sarawakians are lucky that we have mighty rivers and majestic mountains. Premier Abang Jo shared some insights on his plans to maximise the potential of our natural gifts.

Which piqued my curiosity in the power consumption and generation capacity of our nearest neighbours. I found a surprisingly mixed picture, in the infographic.

My thoughts were triggered by traffic jams this week - in A String of Thought, I considered the possibility of avoiding the mistakes of Kuala Lumpur: the over-concentration of development in one city. Might Sarawak have a chance to do it differently?

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

Spreading the Love

Sarawak’s major urban centres have always had distinct personalities. Kuching City carries a strong Hokkien imprint, Sibu leans Foochow, while Bintulu and Miri reflect their industrial and frontier origins. These identities were shaped by both culture and geography, with distance reinforcing the sense that each town operated within its own regional orbi…

a month ago · 3 likes · Mooreyameen Mohamad

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]]><![CDATA[Economic Bomb Shelter]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/economic-bomb-shelterhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/economic-bomb-shelterSat, 18 Apr 2026 22:01:09 GMTIf you could tear your eyes away from the Middle East war and its vacillating effects on the oil price, you might have noticed that there was a lunar flyby mission, Artemis II, earlier this month. As a bit of a space nerd myself, I was happy to note Malaysia’s progressive steps towards the ‘space economy’ in this week’s infographic. The southern tip of Sarawak, being very close to the equator and having really low population density overall, is well-suited to be a rocket launch site. For once, our small population is an advantage.

As a country facing a global supply chain catastrophe due to the Middle East conflict, we are holding up slightly better than many of our neighbours, but that is a temporary and probably false comfort. Not to be alarmist but it’s a slow burn and the fire will probably spread, if the situation in the Middle East does not alleviate soon. But sitting in a corner and crying is not an option. The Sarawak government is stepping up with some help. Let’s hope that cushions some of the effects of the war.

Earlier this week I pushed out A String of Thought especially because I thought some of you may relate to the topic well: the importance of the ritual of eating together.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

Food, Glorious Food!

Malaysia has long been called a melting pot. A place where cultures do not merely coexist, but overlap, borrow, and blend. Languages slip into one another mid-sentence. Festivals are shared, sometimes imperfectly but often generously. And above all, we gather around the same tables…

a month ago · 1 like · 1 comment · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Hydrogen Projects Scaled Down]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/hydrogen-projects-scaled-downhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/hydrogen-projects-scaled-downSun, 12 Apr 2026 01:20:51 GMTThis week, we see that the flagship hydrogen projects in the state have been scaled back due to weak demand. The world is not quite ready yet for large-scale adoption of hydrogen energy. With Brent crude prices hovering around USD100 a barrel since mid-March, things could still change.

But I’m not being naively optimistic. In A String of Thought, I suggest this is part of the growing pains.

This week’s infographic looks at extreme poverty, which is a trickier subject to measure than it appears. While eliminating poverty has long been a goal of our government, the data shows that poverty is highly contextual to its location. Without arguing about whose poverty is more severe, we should all aim to learn from China. In 1984, 91% of its population was living in extreme poverty, compared to Malaysia’s 6.7%. Since 2019, that figure has fallen to zero.

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You can read A String of Thought here:

Mooreyameen Mohamad

Even Optimism Needs A Backup Plan

Sarawak today feels like a place in motion — not in the abstract sense of incremental progress, but in the more deliberate sense of a region attempting to shape its own trajectory with intent and scale…

2 months ago · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Bintulu Lands Polysilicon Plant]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/bintulu-lands-polysilicon-planthttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/bintulu-lands-polysilicon-plantSat, 04 Apr 2026 23:33:21 GMTWe live in strange times right now. The uncertainty of the next few months as the Iran War continues day by day is unsettling to say the least. What plans can you make and carry out?

Which is why the headline news this week is particularly heartening. The announcement of a new polysilicon plant is a significant milestone for Bintulu and Sarawak’s economy, and a reassuring signal for the rest of us.

Still, the road ahead is perilous. This week’s infographic looks at the price differentials of petrol and diesel between Malaysia and our closest neighbours. In the region the subsidy game is strong but in this era of high prices and shortage, smuggling of subsidised fuel is going to be rampant, as we are already seeing.

In a string of thought, I ask if the future we imagined has finally arrived. Not quite glass-topped flying cars and nagging assistant robots, but a version of our future nonetheless.

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You can read A String of Thought here:

Mooreyameen Mohamad

A Barer New World

The ground that we stand on is shifting. And I’m not referring to the recent earthquake in the Molucca Seas. The shift is economic and it is not just about petrol prices at the pump. At the risk of stating the obvious, petroleum is not just fuel. It is also fertiliser, which is the foundation of modern agriculture. And it is plastic, which is a ubiquito…

2 months ago · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Carbon Trading Ready by 2027]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/carbon-trading-ready-by-2027https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/carbon-trading-ready-by-2027Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:02:55 GMTCarbon trading is coming to Sarawak.

Some of us might argue that the idea of carbon trading is as strange as the idea of cryptocurrency: both are invisible in the physical world, and have artificially assigned values. But… one could also extend the same argument against any money these days… Before we fall into that rabbit hole, let me remind you that the global market capital of cryptocurrency is worth of USD2.4 trillion (from a peak of more than USD4 trillion). The value of carbon market is not as stratospheric but the latest estimate of the global carbon market size is about USD900 billion. To put it in context, that is just about double Malaysia’s GDP in USD. It’s not chump change!

The infographic this week looks at some of the numbers from the major emissions trading schemes around the world. In case you have forgotten, the EU carbon permit price has been tracked on The Sarawakian for a while now (see NUMBERS). I await the day I can replace that number with a Sarawak-based figure, instead.

In a string of thought, I think about how special Sarawakians are and whether we might have privileges that come with that uniqueness.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

Limited Edition People

Sarawak is beginning to make a mark on the world stage. There is growing talk about hydrogen production, renewable energy, and the state positioning itself as a kind of battery pack for the region. For the first time in a long while, Sarawak is not just reacting to global shifts. It is starting to help shape them. But beneath this momentum lies a quiete…

2 months ago · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Low-Altitude Economy Push]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/low-altitude-economy-pushhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/low-altitude-economy-pushSat, 21 Mar 2026 23:34:26 GMTThis week’s issue centres on Sarawak’s push into the low-altitude economy — the growing ecosystem of drones and aerial technologies operating below conventional airspace.

The infographic puts global drone use in context. The number of drones in operation in China is nearly as big as the population of Sarawak. More importantly, Sarawak’s combination of vast landscape and sparse population presents the perfect opportunity for the application of drones.

Yet ambition has its complications. This week’s “A String of Thought” surfaces something stranger and less easily named — the unspoken unease that can settle around those who simply try too hard: the fear of success. It is a fear that rarely announces itself openly, yet it shapes communities in quiet, lasting ways.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

The Fear Of Success

We speak often about the fear of failure, as though it is the primary force that holds people back. It is familiar, widely accepted, and easy to understand. Failure is something we anticipate, prepare for, and try to avoid. Yet far less discussed, and perhaps far more unsettling, is the fear of success. Unlike failure, success does not simply add to our…

2 months ago · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Medical Tourism Surges]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/medical-tourism-surgeshttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/medical-tourism-surgesSat, 14 Mar 2026 23:27:32 GMTThe state of Selangor has recently erected a very tall flagpole and of course, there are immediate comparisons against Sarawak’s flagpole on which state’s erection is taller. Of course, the tallest flagpole in the world is actually in Africa (Egypt). The jokes write themselves.

A bit of levity might provide some temporary mental relief from the stressful situation that is happening in the Middle East. Aside from worrying about our families and friends who might still be stuck in the war zone, the oil price has worryingly shot up to over USD100 per barrel. One might compare the oil price chart with our collective blood pressure as the days go by.

Speaking of blood pressure, medical tourism in Sarawak is steadily growing. The infographic highlights how much room there is for expansion, in terms of the potential revenue the sector could generate.

In this week’s A String of Thought, I was triggered by a so-called friend when he asked “why are we friends?”. He’s a doctor, too.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

Why are we friends?

A few years ago, motivational speaker Simon Sinek popularised a deceptively simple idea: if you want to understand yourself, you must discover your “why.” Your “why,” he argues, is the deep motivation behind your actions. It is the reason you push through difficulty and persist when life becomes complicated. Sinek’s message resonated widely after his…

3 months ago · 3 likes · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Trans-Borneo Rail Study By Q3]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/trans-borneo-rail-study-by-q3https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/trans-borneo-rail-study-by-q3Sat, 07 Mar 2026 22:31:12 GMTTrains seem like an old fashioned idea, what with all the new tech in EV cars and low cost flying. But trains are the most environmentally friendly and cost effective means of carrying large number of people over large distances. Borneo Island certainly meets one of those conditions. The feasibility study will tell us more about the rest.

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Speaking of large quantities over great distances, this week’s infographic looks at how world events affect the prices of two crudes: crude oil and crude palm oil.

These are challenging times. In A String of Thought, I consider some inspirations for sparing a thought for those who rely on us for stability and strength.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

Calm Minds in Difficult Times

Sometimes we forget that running a business is not only a technical exercise. It is also an emotional journey…

3 months ago · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Sarawakians Push Back]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/sarawakians-push-backhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/sarawakians-push-backSat, 28 Feb 2026 23:51:58 GMTThe Year of the Fire Horse has begun in suitably fiery fashion. After months of back and forth, and extensive negotiations behind closed doors, talks have collapsed. The Sarawak government is heading to court. The implications could be far reaching, though a resolution is unlikely to come quickly.

Following last week’s quip about Sarawak having more crocodiles than doctors, I took a closer look at how our doctor numbers compare across the region. Among ASEAN countries, Sarawak performs better than some neighbours. Yet the sobering truth remains that we are still significantly short of doctors.

This led me to reflect on the role of journalists. Their work is not only to uncover the realities of our time, but also to tell our stories to the wider world. Our stories matter.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

Journalism is part of the Creative Economy

Ignorant journalists are a real thing. That sounds harsh, but it is not meant as an insult. It describes a structural problem in modern journalism…

3 months ago · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Croconomic Potential]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/croconomic-potentialhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/croconomic-potentialSat, 21 Feb 2026 23:23:05 GMTA (Chinese) friend once stopped by the roadside when the mileage of his car reached 99,999, just so he could admire the number before it turned 100,000. This prompted another friend (Malay) to remark that the Chinese are obsessed with money and numbers. He forgot to mention the colour red. Which brings us to this week’s infographic about the economics of angpows. The numbers are simulated based actual data and some assumptions, but they could easily, albeit unlikely to, be verified by Malaysian banks.

This week’s headline news is about Sarawak Tourism Minister considering crocodile farming for leather production, like what Thailand has been doing for decades. I get that it’s controversial but I think it’s not as exotic as it sounds. We already have a craft industry, and the crocodile population needs to be managed. A recent estimate by Sarawak Forestry says we have about 25,000 crocodiles in the wild. That’s nearly 14 crocodiles for every doctor in Sarawak. Too many crocodiles, too few doctors - this has been the story of Sarawak for too long and it needs to change.

In A String of Thought, I look at the more sombre aspect of poverty - how so many of our people, locally as well as in the wider region, are living with an unintended inheritance over generations.

We have entered the holy month of Ramadhan, after all. Selamat Berpuasa.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

The Invisible Inheritance

If you walk into the city centres of Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, or Jakarta, the signals of wealth are impossible to miss. They gleam in monogrammed canvas, flash in shiny trinkets that cost more than a brand new car, and shimmer behind polished glass displays. It is easy to believe that wealth is the ability to purchase a RM50,000 watch without g…

3 months ago · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Room For Private Sector]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/room-for-private-sectorhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/room-for-private-sectorSat, 14 Feb 2026 22:31:03 GMTTourism is one of the critical sectors of the Sarawak economy. The shortage of hotel capacity has to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Hence this week’s headline: not only the private sector should be running hotels, there’s plenty of room for growth.

The scandal of the week is Bloomberg’s exposé on MACC Chief Tan Sri Azam Baki, which ties in nicely with the latest release of Transparency International report on Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Malaysia’s score has been steadily improving… to the middle. The Sidenote article this week gives some insight. Click on the infographic to access the full CPI report.

In A String of Thought, I experiment using AI to generate a handsomer version of… Sarawak’s future.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

The Limits of Artificial Imagination

The recent development of AI tools, and any long-time reader of The Sarawakian knows I’m a strong advocate for their thoughtful use, has enabled a strange new kind of realism: video animation that looks like real people doing real things they never actually did…

4 months ago · Mooreyameen Mohamad

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]]><![CDATA[Borneonisation of Civil Service]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/borneonisation-of-civil-servicehttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/borneonisation-of-civil-serviceSun, 08 Feb 2026 01:03:52 GMTWithout getting too distracted by the political noises around MA63 this week, the headline centres on Putrajaya move to hire more Sarawakians in federal positions in the civil service in Sarawak. Is it just me, or is it surprising this is only coming up now?

This week’s infographic compares several major Malaysian ports with Sarawak’s two primary gateways, Kuching and Bintulu. The difference in scale is distractingly wide and just shows how far behind we are in maritime trade volumes.

In A String of Thought, I ruminate about a common affliction in modern life. It takes real effort to push back against the constant pull of distraction.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

We All Have ADHD Now

Modern life is loud. Modern business is complicated. The world is changing very fast. We often describe ourselves as busy, but being busy today is not just about having a lot to do. It is about having too many things pulling at our attention at the same time…

4 months ago · 2 likes · Mooreyameen Mohamad

Your thoughts are always welcome, by the way.

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]]><![CDATA[MA63 Dashboard Unveiled]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/ma63-dashboard-unveiledhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/ma63-dashboard-unveiledSat, 31 Jan 2026 23:34:24 GMTThis week’s news is headlined by the publication of the MA63 dashboard. The political sparring over MA63 has grown in volume, not all constructive or informative. (You can click on the image to link directly to the dashboard.)

Global markets also had a dramatic week. Gold surged past USD5,000 per ounce for the first time. The ringgit has been on a relentless surge, moving past the vaunted RM4.00 to the dollar mark. If not unnerving, it is at least unfamiliar.

As a nod to APACE being held in Kuching, I was surprised in my research for the infographic this week how many countries have ambitions to conquer space, which, now seems… crowded, ironically. Sarawak is already late to the party!

In this week’s A String of Thought, I thought we might harness the power of brutal feedback to feed our hunger for progress.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

The Tough Love of Brutal Feedback

We talk a lot about growth. We speak of progress, leadership, and improvement. But the moment someone gives us real feedback, the uncomfortable kind, we tend to react. We get defensive. We feel attacked. That instinct is human, but it is also a barrier. If we are serious about building a stronger Sarawak, whether in government, business, or civil societ…

4 months ago · 1 like · Mooreyameen Mohamad

]]><![CDATA[Cool for School: Six, Seven]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/cool-for-school-six-sevenhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/cool-for-school-six-sevenSat, 24 Jan 2026 22:59:28 GMTLast week’s big announcement centred on education. One major change is that children as young as six can now enter Primary One. With many households having two working parents, an earlier start may suit both families and children better.

That said, there is still much room for improvement in primary school education. This week’s infographic compares Malaysian pupils’ reading and mathematics abilities at the end of primary school with those in several Southeast Asian countries and a selection of high-income nations. The result is middling at best. It also appears that many Malaysian children leave primary school without mastering basic skills.

Unfortunately, there are no separate statistics for Sarawak. With 43 percent of the population living in rural areas that generally have weaker facilities and fewer teachers, the situation here could be worse. We simply do not know.

In this week’s A String of Thought, I reflect on another thing we do not know: the future, and when we might finally start preparing for it.

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Read A String of Thought here:

Mooreyameen Mohamad

At the Edge of Possibility

Major economic transformations rarely happen when conditions are ideal. They happen when regions are forced to act despite real constraints. History shows that progress accelerates not when everything is in place, but when leaders decide that waiting carries greater risk than moving forward…

4 months ago · Mooreyameen Mohamad

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]]><![CDATA[Bintulu Port Acquired: RM1.8 billion]]>https://www.thesarawakian.com/p/bintulu-port-acquired-rm18-billionhttps://www.thesarawakian.com/p/bintulu-port-acquired-rm18-billionSun, 18 Jan 2026 00:47:44 GMTThis week’s big headline: the Sarawak government went shopping and bought a port! The Bintulu Port will generate steady cash flow, anchor new industries, and strengthen Sarawak’s economic sovereignty. In development terms, this is nation-building infrastructure.

The federal government is reviewing limits employment policies on skilled foreign workers (aka ‘expats’, as opposed to ‘migrant workers’). Such policies should be reviewed regularly as economic realities change. The challenge is to tweak the policies in a way that is fair, humane while staying competitive, as they affect lives and livelihoods of people. I’m sure our own Dr Sim heartily agrees.

In this week’s infographic, we look at some grimmer statistics. Childhood stunting due to undernutrition has popped up on the radar and Malaysia is not doing well. Nearly 1 in every 4 children are affected. We need to pay serious attention to this to change the trend.

In A String of Thought, I get lyrical about changing the tune of a common refrain: ‘This is Sarawak’. It’s time for it to mean something different.

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Mooreyameen Mohamad

“This Is Sarawak”

There is a phrase Sarawakians use when something goes wrong. It is said when meetings start late, when paperwork drags on for weeks, when decisions stall, and when responsibility becomes unclear. The phrase is simple: “This is Sarawak…

4 months ago · 1 like · 2 comments · Mooreyameen Mohamad

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