Sebauh folk clamouring for more development

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The old Sebauh town by Kemena River.

The old Sebauh town by Kemena River.

The proposed site for Sebauh’s new township is across Kemena River, opposite where the old Sebauh town stands.

The proposed site for Sebauh’s new township is across Kemena River, opposite where the old Sebauh town stands.

Iban Penghulu Michael Lanyau Luma

Iban Penghulu Michael Lanyau Luma

SEBAUH: Sebauh town, along Kemena River, needs a technical school, like Giat Mara, for the poor and young to learn valuable skills.

Penghulu Michael Lanyau Luma, who lives near the town, said most villagers were poor; hence, for them to send their children to Bintulu or elsewhere to study was beyond their means.

“The government needs skilled manpower to fuel Bintulu and Samalaju Industrial Park, and they can tap them from villages here,” he told BAT6 yesterday.

Lanyau, who serves 81 villages, opined it would be a mistake to send unskilled youths here to work in towns as they would not be able to earn much.

“The worst case scenario would be if their poor parents have to send them money to cover living expenses,” he said.

“We want these young people to be independent and not rely on their poor parents, who have to toil their farms and find alternatives to earn more money.”

Lanyau said the government ought to have a proper plan to develop Sebauh, which was upgraded to a district on Aug 1 last year.

“The government needs to pump in more funds for the socio-economic wellbeing of the people and for better infrastructure development.

“Yes, a technical school should be set up here, including a police station and a Bomba station.”

He also hoped the government clinic would be upgraded soon and staffed with enough doctors and other medical personnel.

Lanyau disclosed that in the pipeline is a new township across Kemena River, right opposite the present old Sebauh town.

“Once built, the government will build a bridge to connect this old town to the new township.”

On another matter, Lanyau said he believed the economy here should be picking up soon, especially from the oil palms that were planted some six years ago.

“I am sure they are ready to be harvested.”

“The government also encouraged the planting of cash crops like pepper and rubber.

“Once these crops mature, the livelihood of the farmers should be better.”

Another Iban penghulu, Charlie Leming @ Limen, who serves 70 villages, said the villages under his care needed better roads, treated water and electricity.

“At the moment, the roads are dirt ones and long winded. They were built by plantation companies.

“As for water, most villages use gravity-feed water or rainwater. For electricity, they use generators,” said Charlie, from Rumah Numpang in Sg Patik.