Abang Johari (fourth left) speaking to the recipients after the presentation of MRP funds at Wisma Sultan Tengah here yesterday.
KUCHING: The reinstallation of cables and lightings stolen by thieves to brighten up the city for the current Asean Tourism Forum (ATF) costs the government RM2.3 million.
Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg apparently wasn’t amused with that and is hoping that the newly replaced utilities would not vanish again.
Concerned with such problem, he was also looking forward for the implementation of the Second Hand Dealers Act which actually had been extended to Sarawak in July 2011.
“The law has been extended to Sarawak and now it is just a matter of implementation. We are now still working it out with the police but we hope it will be enforced starting this year,” he said.
He said hopefully with the implementation of the Second Hand Dealers Act the number of thefts of cables as well as other items can be reduced.
Pointing out that theft of cables was just one of the various social issues affecting bigger towns like Kuching, Sibu, Miri, Bintulu and now Mukah, he said that this is the biggest challenge the government and members of the society have to tackle before the situation gets out of hand.
Abang Johari, who is also Minister of Housing, said the problem if left unchecked could be more crucial within the next 10 years during which the population of urban dwellers is expected to be 70 per cent more than those living in rural areas.
He said in view of this, the government had been working on various strategies and plans to mitigate all potential social problems caused by rapid rural-urban migration.
“The trend now is that there has been growing desire among our people to migrate to towns where there are better infrastructures, greater economic activities and opportunities to get jobs.
“In the process, cultural shock will definitely occur and in some instances there will be those who are unable to cope with the challenges and in the end will be trapped in the new culture,” he said.
Thus, he added, the government and the people, particularly non-governmental organisations (NGOs), need to work hand in hand to ensure that such kind of menace will not happen in the state like in some big cities in the region.
“We are already facing some social problems as a result of the negative impact from rural-urban migration. It is not serious but we need to nip it in the bud,” he stressed.
He disclosed this when presenting minor rural project (MRP) funds to 13 voluntary bodies and organisations at Wisma Sultan Tengah in Petra Jaya here yesterday, where the recipients were among 15 others receiving total allocation of RM690,000 from him.
According to him, among the efforts to check on social ills as a result of rapid rural-urban migration is to provide counselling to residents in the various new growth areas, apart from trying to create a more conducive environment at home and also outside..“We don’t want our society to live in a messy and stressful environment. That is why we have put up a master plan to develop the traditional Malay kampungs right from Boyan to Bintawa using new technology,” he said.
However, he stressed, the government’s efforts to improve the people’s wellbeing would be futile without the support from all members of the society irrespective of religious, racial and political backgrounds.
He added that for Sarawak to be a safe and peaceful state, all its people should work together and try to preserve peace and harmony at all cost.