The Right Honourable Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg is the Premier of Sarawak, a semi-autonomous region of Malaysia on the island of Borneo.
Assuming office in January 2017, he also holds the portfolios for Finance and New Economy, Natural Resources and Urban Development and Energy and Environmental Sustainability. Since his first election to the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly in 1981, the Premier has held various portfolios including industrialisation, tourism and housing.
Under his leadership as Premier, Sarawak aspires to be a developed and high-income region by 2030 that entails doubling the size of Sarawak’s economy from RM136 billion in 2019 to RM282 billion in 2030 with a targeted annual growth of between six to eight percent.
The driver of his administration as outlined in the Sarawak Post COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030) is to ensure that Sarawak is able to embark on a full-pledged transformation leveraging on its strength as a resource-rich region, the development of a low-carbon and sustainable economy in line with the Paris Climate Accords.
A significant milestone was achieved in 2022 when Sarawak was categorised as a high-income region by the World Bank, seven years earlier than targeted with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of USD13,205 in 2022 and USD16,560 in 2023.
As a strong proponent of actions against climate change, the Premier has put Sarawak at the forefront of a strong stewardship towards a green economy and net-zero emission by 2050. He has been invited to share Sarawak’s experience at international and regional forums including in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Japan.
Under his bold leadership, Sarawak has emerged as a regional leader in the development of renewable energy from hydropower, solar, biomass and wind, Carbon Storage Utilisation (CCUS), hydrogen as an emissions-free fuel, carbon trading and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from algae biomass.
Given Sarawak’s strength in renewable energy, Sarawak aspires to be a “battery” of ASEAN with existing cross-border power transmission to West Kalimantan in Indonesia and future transmissions to Sabah, Brunei, Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.
