TR Sunning Sigon (left) and TR Jabu Braok.
Toh Tze Hua
SONG: The voice of the grassroots here is very clear – BN must field a new face for Katibas in the coming state election.
“It’s not that we are against the incumbent, but he has been there for too long. We want a new face for Katibas to lead us with new ideas,” Tuai Rumah Suning Sigon, 60, told BAT 5 here yesterday.
He described the livelihood of his people at Rumah Suning in Nanga Nayai, Ulu Katibas, as ‘merinsa’ (tough and challenging) as they depended solely on river transport to get to Song and send their children to schools.
“We really need a road to Ulu Katibas area, one that will connect at least 100 longhouses. For now, just to go to Song town by boat will take at least six hours. We need to spend at least RM360 on fuel alone and a return trip would double the cost.
“During dry spell, like now, we might sometimes have to spend the night at the karangan (pebble beach) because some parts of Katibas River are too shallow for navigation.”
He pointed out that it was high time the government come good with its promise to develop the rural areas and improve connectivity.
“When there is a road, it could open up more land as well as provide better mobility for those living upriver.
“Now, even if we have products, such as vegetables, fish and meat, we can’t sell it in Song town because by the time we reach the town, our products will be spoilt.
“On top of that, if there were a road leading to the longhouses, we can easily send our children to school either in Song town or to SMK Katibas.”
For Tuai Rumah Jabu Braok, 59, of Rumah Richard Taggong in Ng Chemerong, Ulu Katibas, he hoped the BN would field someone who has the heart to serve the people.
“We have the same assemblyman for the last 35 years. I personally think we need new blood to lead us so that we can have better infrastructure such as electricity and water.”
Jabu said his people had to depend on generators and gravity feed.
“With the fluctuating price of fuel, it’s very difficult to depend on own generator sets because it would be too expensive to maintain, and with the increasing cost of living, life is tough because our income remain stagnant. That’s why we need electricity supply from the government.”
Former councillor, Toh Tze Hua, too, hoped the BN would field a new face to bring the necessary infrastructure to the whole district.
“We need more roads and infrastructure, especially to link us to Ulu Katibas. The people of Ulu Katibas have been supporting the government, but they do not have the necessary infrastructure to improve their livelihood.
“The government must take care of them as they have been strong supporters of the BN.
“If they have roads, at least they could open up more land for agriculture and large scale plantation. Now, even if they have agriculture products, they can’t market them at Song town because it not economically viable.”
Toh also hoped the ‘missing’ link from Temalat, some 7km from here, would be linked to Ngemah soon with the approval of RM87 million as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently.
The so-called ‘missing’ link is about 9.6 km, which is between Temalat and Ngemah – not far from Kanowit.
Toh also hoped the government would construct a new wharf in Song as the present one was very dangerous for passengers of express boats as it had no metal railings.
“Besides that, the government must also improve electricity and water supplies as well as communication services, especially the Internet in Song town. Presently, these basic necessities are unreliable and often broke down.
“As a result of that, the only bank we have here is also not reliable. This has caused us a lot of inconveniences.”
However, he commended Kapit MP cum Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi for being very helpful to the people of Song and Katibas constituencies.
“But he also can’t do much as he has to respect the local elected representative. So, the only logical move for the BN leadership is to have a new face in Katibas in the coming state election.”
Toh was optimistic the BN could easily defend Katibas in the state polls as it has been its stronghold all these while.
Katibas has been represented by Datuk Ambrose Blikau of PBB for the last 35 years.