Road access to national parks in Sarawak proposed
If we have roads (going) to some of these national parks, we could encourage more people to appreciate them (parks).
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing plans to build roads leading to national parks, apart from those meant to connect settlements in the state.
According to him, this move is imperative in providing better accessibility to more visitors to go to these national parks.
“If we have roads (going) to some of these national parks, we could encourage more people to appreciate them ( parks),” he told The Borneo Post at his office in Bangunan Baitulmakmur here yesterday.
Nevertheless, he also pointed out that some national parks should be left as they are, for the purpose of research and studies.
“It is a wrong perception that if the government builds roads to these national parks, this would only encourage people to destroy the state’s rich biodiversity.
“Unless we allow accessibility to these national parks, we would not be able to make people appreciate what we have. Conservation only comes when people have the chance to appreciate what they have,” said Masing, who is Minister of Infrastructure Development and Transportation.
The minister, who had just returned from Australia, witnessed how the Australian government has allowed roads to be built at their national parks without any adverse effect.
“What we must do is to continue educating our people on the importance of conservation and preservation. We can do this only by exposing them to what we have. Without such exposure, they would never appreciate them (nature).
“We must not look down on our people – they are intelligent too. It’s not only the ‘orang putih’ (white men) who can appreciate nature better,” said Masing, who was the state’s tourism minister in the 1990s.
Masing then cited the Semenggok Wildlife Sanctuary as an example, where the road access has allowed many visitors to come and see the orang-utans there – there has been no news of poachers coming for these apes.
“Likewise, if we had roads at Bako and Mulu national parks, then more people would be able to experience and appreciate what we have there.”
On a separate issue, Masing said Sarawak is learning from Australia on its future port development so that it would not adversely affect the environment.
“The study is important so that we can improve port productivity and protect our natural environment in any future plannings development. Ports in Sarawak must also provide the facilities and services to support the drive towards the new digital economy,” he said.
Recently, Masing led a Sarawak delegation to visit the proposed Port of Hastings and its surrounding areas to study the planning, future extension and development there, as well as its impact on environmentally- sensitive areas whereby migratory birds, white mangrove swamps and sea grass are featured prominently there.
In particular, the port development that may pose an impact on the flora and fauna there could be properly addressed in order to adopt a ‘green’ port development strategy.
“For example, there is much concern about avoiding or mitigating the impact on the protected white mangrove swamps and vegetation, as well as the feeding grounds of migratory birds in the area, in addition to water, air and noise pollution from the new port development,” said Masing.
The key members of the Sarawak delegation were Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datu Len Talif Salleh; Assistant Minister of Coastal Road Datuk Julaihi Narawi; Assistant Minister of Transportation Datuk Dr Jerip Susil; permanent secretary to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Transportation, Safri Zainudin; Kuching Port Authority (KPA) chairman Datuk Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah and its general manager Robert Lau Hong Thian.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing, Deputy Chief Minister