Henry wants Bau town linked to Pan Borneo Highway

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Henry (left) greeting the people during a gathering with NGOs and youths at 1Singai Tondong commercial centre on Friday night. — Photo by Anasathia Jenis

Henry (left) greeting the people during a gathering with NGOs and youths at 1Singai Tondong commercial centre on Friday night. — Photo by Anasathia Jenis

BAU: Tasik Biru BN candidate Dato Henry Harry Jinep has pledged to get Bau town linked to the Pan Borneo Highway, and to ensure the completion of the long-delayed SMK Singai, if he is victorious in this state election.

He believes that with the link to Pan Borneo Highway, more investments will come in to Bau to create more business and employment opportunities so that Bau would be more vibrant economically.

Speaking to reporters here yesterday, he said improving people’s income and purchasing power was the best way for them to cushion the impact of the implementation of goods and services tax (GST) which is an issue now being played up by the opposition during this campaigning period.

He also cited the SMK Singai project, which was supposed to be completed last year, as another issue taken advantage of by the opposition in Tasik Biru.

“On GST, even the states governed by DAP and PKR could not even abolish GST. The most important thing to do now is to help reduce the impact of GST on the people. Therefore, I will fight for Bau town to be linked to the Pan Borneo Highway.

“Once Bau is connected to Pan Borneo Highway, we can develop good infrastructure to get foreign investors to come in. When we have all the investments in commercial activities, there will be more opportunities for people to get employed and people to open businesses,” he said.

He explained the current design of the Pan Borneo Highway stretch from Tanjung Datu to Kuching was not linked to Bau, but he vowed to get the four-mile stretch from Bau linked to this highway.

“There are already many tourist attractions in Bau district such as Bung Bratak, Serikin weekend market, Wind Cave, Fairy Cave and Tasik Biru lake (remnant of gold mining activities) as well as the upcoming Bidayuh Cultural Centre announced recently by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,” he added.

“As a leader, this is what I am going to do for Tasik Biru. We need to get the road connected from Bau to Pan Borneo Highway in order to spin economic activities in Bau district”.

On SMK Singai, he said he would make sure the project is finally completed without any further delays if he were to be elected.

He explained the project had been delayed due to failure of the first contractor to complete the job, and contractual procedures involved in continuing the project.

He nonetheless believed the majority of voters were aware that the project was still being implemented by the government, although they were anxious to see its completion.

“The first contractor failed to complete the job on time for reasons known to themselves, and now the government has appointed a new contractor to complete the job and it would be completed in two years time.

“The process of terminating and appointing contractors is not straight forward because this involves contractual procedures which the government has to comply. This is normal, you don’t blame the politicians for not doing their job.

“The project is still there, it’s just a matter of time that it will be completed. Hopefully, if I win the election, I will definitely monitor it and make sure the project is completed on time,” he said.

Based on previous news reports, the school project was approved under the first rolling plan of the 10th Malaysia Plan (10th MP), and it was launched by then Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkasih at the school’s building site near Redeems centre at Kampung Apar on April 15, 2011.

Construction commenced two years later on April 30 and was supposed to be completed by April last year.

The original allocation for the project was understood to be RM60 million but had been reduced to RM45 million after the multipurpose hall was taken out from the original package.

This new school, capable of taking in 1,000 students will mitigate the overcrowding problems at SMK Lake and SMK Bau. It will also have sporting facilities.

On another matter, Henry said the response from Tasik Biru constituents to his campaigns have been quite positive and optimistic, but his camp would continue  to work hard in order to achieve the target of a good majority win.

He also expressed his gratitude to supporters of previous Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Peter Nansian who are helping out in his campaign.

Henry, the new face introduced by Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), is facing Mordi Bimol from DAP in a straight fight for Tasik Biru.