Rural Sarawakians hope for new lease on life under new federal Works Minister

MIRI: The people in rural areas such as Baram and Lawas expect a new lease on life with the appointment of Selangau MP Baru Bian as the federal Works Minister.

In his congratulatory remarks to Baru, the Youth chief of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Telang Usan branch Councillor Dominic Nyurang Ajeng said the appointment is seen as good news by the rural communities, particularly the Orang Ulus.

“Now that an Orang Ulu is in charge of the Works Ministry, we hope that infrastructure development in rural areas would see a new lease on life.

“Baram needs roads, preferably tar-sealed roads complete with streetlights that connect key destinations namely Long Lama, Tinjar, the Apoh Tutoh area and Bario,” he said.

According to Dominic, infrastructure development was something that the people in Baram had been calling upon the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government to complete.

“No doubt, BN had done some good work in Baram for many years, allocating huge funds to the roads development, but that was not good enough for the Baram folk.”

In this context, Dominic said the people are hoping that Baru and Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led federal government could deliver road projects ahead of schedule – and to the satisfaction of the people in Baram.

“Proper roads or tar-sealed roads connecting every longhouse – that’s how specific the Baram people had demanded from the previous government,” he said.

The existing logging road from Long Lama to Bario covers a distance of 225km, while the one connecting Long Lama with Long Iman is 97km.

“The stretch from Long Lama to Long Iman, in particular, is important as it can benefit many villages in Apoh region namely Long Bemang, Long Wat, Long Atip and Long Bedian,” said Dominic, adding that the people want the road construction from Long Lama to Long Kesseh, which had stopped following protest and blockade put up by some quarters over the past few years, to re-commence. We want the blockade to be lifted to allow road construction (to kick off again) as soon as possible.

“The previous government could not simply bulldoze through this, but maybe YB Baru could get it done,” he added.