‘No more water woes in Bau by end of next year’
BAU: The RM140 million water supply projects funded by the Sarawak government for Bau District will increase the water capacity to 40 million litres daily (MLD) and benefit a population of 64,000 people when completed by end of next year.
Tasik Biru assemblyman Dato Henry Harry Jinep said the people in Bau District are happy that the Sarawak government is funding the projects to solve the water supply problems affecting them after the earlierannounced project was cancelled by the Pakatan Harapan federal government.
According to Henry, the federal government cancelled RM129 million worth of projects already agreed by the previous administration in 2017.
“We requested for the RM129 million water supply projects from the previous government which was agreed, but were cancelled by the current federal government.
“Now, we can see pipes being laid, the work is on-going. There are nine contracts under Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB) being awarded to upgrade water supply in Bau District.
“By end of 2020, Bau District will have sufficient clean treated water for every household,” he told reporters here yesterday.
Henry, who recently celebrated his first three years as Tasik Biru assemblyman, said getting the water issue solved would be a landmark of sorts in his service for the people.
He said the allocation of RM140 million was derived from the RM2.8 billion allocated statewide
— Dato Henry Harry Jinep, Tasik Biru assemblyman
by the Sarawak government under the Sarawak Water Supply Grid Programme – Stressed Areas by end of 2020
“Once completed, the water will not be just for household use but also for use by industries to be sited at the Bau Industrial Estate. Investors will come in when there are basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water,” he said.
He added that in his three years as an elected representative, there are already many things in progress in Bau such as the construction of two new bridges at a cost of about RM14 million, the construction of RM8 million Bau Sports Arena, and a plan to build Bau Gold Museum and Park.
He was also happy to note that since becoming the assemblyman in May 2016, he has been able to assist the people, including working with the government to solve the people’s native customary rights (NCR) land issues as well as implementing projects to improve their socioeconomy.
He expressed his appreciation to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, and believed that Sarawak was in good hands under his leadership and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government.
On another matter, Henry said the just concluded State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting was a ‘beautiful one’, whereby issues raised by him were answered by the ministers and assistant ministers concerned.
These included the request for a regional agency to accelerate development in the Bidayuh belt stretching from Lundu to Tebedu. Sarawak Land Development Board (SLDB) will be given the task to play the role of that regional agency.
“We will sit down and follow up with SLDB on how they are going to bring in development to the belt which is also known as durian belt due to to its soil suitability for the crop,” he said.
He also said he would follow up with SLDB on plans to set up crop collection centre and agro park for Bau.
Henry also hoped that ‘friends’ in Pakatan Harapan would help pursue the realisation of Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex in Serikin to better control the movement of vehicular traffic, people and goods coming from Kalimantan Indonesia, and to enhance border security. KOTA KINABALU: About 1,033,871 tourists visited Sabah in the first three months of this year, says Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew.
Liew, who is also State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister said the number of tourist arrivals showed an increase of 9.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.
“The influx of tourists is estimated to have generated RM2.23 billion in revenue for Sabah,” she said when launching Sabah’s Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair 2019, here yesterday.
She said with the ongoing promotional efforts by her ministry and a number of other initiatives including direct flights from certain locations to Sabah would ensure that the target of four million tourist arrivals to Sabah this year is achieved.
“Two days ago I also announced two direct flights to Kota Kinabalu from Daegu and Busan cities operated by Air Busan. These direct flights will surely increase the number of tourists to Sabah,” she added.
At the same time, Liew said her ministry through the Sabah Tourism Board will continue to promote tourism in the east coast of Sabah, to ensure a more balanced distribution of tourists across the state and to provide business opportunities to communities in the east coast.
“Therefore, we will introduce ‘Cuti-Cuti Tawau’ to highlight tourism options in the east coast of Sabah to ensure the target of four million local and international tourists can be achieved.
“The east coast of Sabah, especially Tawau, Semporna, Lahad Datu and Sandakan have many nature-based tourism attractions besides historical heritage,” she said.
Meanwhile, commenting on the fair, she congratulated MATTA for attracting 115 exhibitors to put up booths to promote various tourism products. — Bernama