Bagan Datuk declared Perak’s 12th district
BAGAN DATUK: The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, yesterday declared Bagan Datuk as the 12th district in the state.
He made the declaration at Sekolah Menengah Sains here at an event attended by some 10,000 people, including Bagan Datuk MP and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir.
The state government gazetted Bagan Datuk, previously known as Bagan Datoh, as a new district on June 15 last year upon approval from the Cabinet.
The new district covers an area of 94,969.892ha with a population of 70,300.
In his speech, Zambry thanked the sultan for his consent to create the district, which is a milestone in the state’s administration, adding that RM1.174 billion had been allocated by Putrajaya for 11 projects under the 11th Malaysia Plan, which is in various stages of implementation.
Among them are a polytechnic, housing, district police headquarters, sports complex, Mara junior science college, relocation of Pusat Giat Mara, construction of a bridge from Bagan Datuk to Kampung Sejagop, upgrading the road from Simpang Empat to Bagan Datuk and closure of the Parit A and Parit B river mouth to control erosion at Sungai Belukang.
Zambry pointed out several high-impact projects were also in the pipeline, including upgrading of a jetty and community square to boost tourism, a heavy industry park and a new district administrative centre on a 1,600ha site, of which 1,200ha will be reclaimed land.
Bagan Datuk previously came under the purview of the Hilir Perak district administration, with the administrative centre located in Teluk Intan. – by P. Chandra Sagaran