SRDC committed to make sure Sibu Jaya successful, orderly

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Lau (right) greeting old friends at the Sibu Jaya Market.

SIBU: Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) is committed to ensuring that Sibu Jaya will be a successful and orderly township with more business opportunities for the people there.

“As such, there are rules that must be followed and the people must understand that it is in their best interest to follow such rules,” council deputy chairman Robert Lau Hui Yew said.

He mentioned this at the opening of a dialogue between business operators, shop owners, the township’s developer and SRDC councillors at the Sibu Jaya Library yesterday.

“We are not here to make life difficult for anyone. By the same token, we do not want the actions of a few to make life difficult for everyone else,” he said, referring to activities that created inconveniences to others in the form of unlicensed structures or usage of public spaces.

The dialogue was held to let the stakeholders know what they could use and do and how they could go about applying for the temporary usage of certain spaces.

It was also meant as a platform for stakeholders to speak up and provide feedback to the council.

More than 100 people were present at the session which Lau described as highly successful because he could see that they were willing to work together with the council and all parties were committed to resolving challenges instead of blaming each other.

He added: “Yes we will always have differences in opinions. But what matters is that the people know that SRDC is not here to make things hard for them. And all of us in SRDC also know that our existence is to facilitate the people’s needs and as such we will always strive to do what we can for the people.”

Towards this end, Lau reminded the people that they had only one chance to get it right with regards to the township’s orderly development.

“The moment you slack and let it slide then the beautiful township that you see before you will deteriorate. That is why we are so concerned about getting things right in the first place,” he explained.

He pointed out that everything in Sibu Jaya had been planned properly, and the township had even picked up an award for excellent town planning.

It is now up to the people and the council to make sure that this township grows properly into its full potential, he said.

“An orderly and progressive township that is as vibrant as Sibu Jaya could only lead to more business opportunities for the people,” he said.