Allocation needed to upgrade logging roads in Telang Usan — Assemblyman

KUCHING: Over 40,000 residents living in 88 longhouses in Telang Usan in northern Sarawak hope that parts of the RM5.8 billion allocated for the state’s development in Budget 2024 would be channelled to upgrade 1,000km of logging roads in the area.

Telang Usan assemblyman Datuk Dennis Ngau emphasises the need for this upgrade, given that these roads, created for logging activities in the 1980s and 1990s, now serve as the primary transportation network for the locals.

“The location of villages and longhouses belonging to the Penan, Kayan and Kenyah tribes in Telang Usan are scattered and not concentrated in one area.

“Telang Usan has 1,000 km of logging roads, and if building one km is estimated to cost about RM3 million, imagine how much allocation is needed for us to upgrade all of it, which will definitely involve considerable cost and time,” he told Bernama here.

During the tabling of the Budget 2024 in October last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced a development allocation of RM5.8 billion for Sarawak, up from RM5.6 billion in 2023.

Meanwhile, Dennis said the involvement of elected representatives in the planning and distribution of development allocations was crucial because they understood the needs of their constituencies closely.

He said input, especially from elected representatives in interior areas, could optimise the use of the annual funds provided so that benefits could really reach the grassroots and its targets.

He also said the establishment of economic development agencies by area, such as the Highland Development Agency (HDA) in Sarawak in 2017, could be an example of achieving a more focused mission.

“Through the HDA, RM750 million has been allocated for the Telang Usan area. I, as the area’s representative, can also be involved in the planning of building a road network,” he said.