WELL DONE: Daud (second left) hands over a prize to Anifah Ismail from SMK Gedong who won the essay competition for the Bahasa Malaysia category. Also in the photo is Zaini (left). — Photo by Mahathir Haroun
KUCHING: The time is right for the federal government to allocate funds for the upgrading of airports in Miri, Sibu and Mukah, says Assistant Minister of Infrastructure Development Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman.
“The announcement of allocation under Budget 2014 to upgrade these three airports is timely, since these are quite congested now. I believe this allocation is just the tip, as there could be more allocations for our airports in the coming budgets,” he told reporters yesterday after officiating at a prize giving
ceremony for Esei Kenegaraan (Nationhood Essay) competition here yesterday.
The federal government is allocating RM312 million to upgrade Miri, Sibu and Mukah airports in Sarawak and Kota Kinablu and Sandakan airports in Sabah. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, when tabling the budget on Friday, said the upgrading is to increase passenger comfort at the airports.
Meanwhile, in his speech, Daud urged the younger generation to preserve the political stability and racial harmony in the state and nation.
“These two aspects (political stability and racial harmony) are added advantage to Sarawak which enables the state to be among the richest in Malaysia,” he said.
Also present at the function was deputy information director Zaini Mohamad.