Nogeh (second right) gets ready to sign the visitors book after the launching ceremony. Also in the photo are IMKG managing director Henry Harry Jinep (right), Lundu district officer Hamsein Atar (second left) and IMKG operations director Michael Jinep.
LUNDU: Construction of the long-awaited bridge over Batang Kayan to Kampung Slampit is a priority project for Mas Gading parliamentary constituency in the coming 11th Malaysia Plan.
Member of parliament for Mas Gading, Anthony Nogeh Gumbek, said he has lobbied to the government to implement the project which could cost more than RM10 million.
“I will give the bridge a priority under the 11MP. It will be a proper bridge passable by cars,” he told reporters after launching the Institut Memandu Kota Gading (IMKG) roadshow at an open space here yesterday.
At present, residents and visitors to Slampit are forced to leave their cars in sheds at Bitokan before boarding boats to reach the village across the river. The absence of the bridge was one of the issues often played up during election campaigns.
On another matter, Nogeh said almost all villages in Mas Gading parliamentary constituency are tar-sealed except for the road leading to Kendaie here.
He pledged to get the Kendaie road tar-sealed “as and when the government has the funds to do it”.
“You can say that more than 90 per cent of the roads in Mas Gading are already tar-sealed. I also give out MRP (minor rural project) funds for the villages to do their access roads.
“As for electricity supply, it is almost 100 per cent. But for treated water supply, there is still a lot to be done with the KKLW (Ministry of Rural and Regional Development) looking into it and state government is ready to provide funds for it,” he said.
Earlier, in his opening speech, Nogeh said constituents in Mas Gading are now enjoying the comfort of driving on tar-sealed roads which facilitate their movement and transportation of goods.
He praised the efforts made by IMKG to hold a roadshow in Lundu not just to raise awareness of the need to take driving licence classes but also offer 15 per cent discount on B2 licence (motorcycle) and D licence (car) to make such classes affordable for those who registered yesterday.
“I hope driving institutes will not just focus on technical aspects of driving, but also impart road safety values to the students. It is a fact that Malaysia has one of the highest road fatality cases.
“This is particularly so in the Peninsula where hundreds of fatalities are recorded especially during festive seasons, but this does not mean Mas Gading is safe as well because there are already a few cases reported here,” he said.