Joniston (right) being briefed on the newly upgraded Kampung Tompinahaton Community Hall by JKKK chairman Rudimond Guin during the village’s Family Day.
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah vice president Junz Wong’s statement about his so-called plans to develop Kiulu should the party win the seat in the 14th general election is nothing more than a desperate attempt to garner support, said Kiulu assemblyman Joniston Bangkuai.
Describing Wong’s statement as ‘flattering’, Joniston said the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has and is already making great strides in the effort to develop Kiulu’s agriculture and eco-tourism potential.
Among them are the replanting of hundreds of hectares of land with high-yielding rubber trees and making Kiulu a fruit hub, with several potential areas identified for the purpose.
Speaking at the Kampung Tompinahaton JKKK Family Day, Joniston said Kiulu is also set to become a producer of stingless bee honey under a collaborative program with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
In fact, he reaffirmed that the Malaysian Agriculture Research Development Authority (Mardi) has acknowledged that Kiulu’s stingless bee honey is among the best in Malaysia.
The government has also embarked on an initiative, through the effort of Tuaran Member of Parliament and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau and the Kiulu State Assemblyman office, to speedily survey native customary rights land in Kiulu.
“Large areas of NCR (native customary rights) land has already been surveyed and nearly a thousand land titles are ready to be given to applicants. With the land titles, NCR land owners could benefit from various agricultural assistance and subsidies to cultivate their land,” revealed Joniston yesterday.
“On top of that villagers would also be able to market their agriculture produce with ease when the Telipok-Kiul -Ranau and the Tobobon-Gonipis roads are completed.
“Construction of the RM300 million Telipok-Kiulu-Ranau road is in progress, while works on the RM45 million Tobobon-Gonipis road are expected to begin soon,” he added.
Moreover, Joniston said in recognition of Kiulu’s vast eco-tourism potentials, various efforts have been and are being taken to identify and develop tourism products in the area, leveraging on its already very popular white water rafting activities.
A Kiulu Tourism Association has also been formed to coordinate and galvanize involvement of the local community in tourism business activities.
“There are now more than 20 eco-tourism-related ventures, including community-based, in Kiulu following Sabah Tourism Board’s concerted effort to develop and promote rural tourism over the last four years,” said Joniston who is also the chairman of Sabah Tourism Board.
“To put everything in a nutshell, efforts to develop Kiulu are holistic and all encompassing covering agriculture, eco-tourism and the need to improve basic infrastructure. The ultimate objective is to ensure that all the development initiatives would lead to the uplifting of the living standard of the people of Kiulu.
“Perhaps, Junz should ask his party president what he has done for Kiulu during his tenure as Federal Rural Development Minister, especially with regards to poverty eradication and requests for more ‘Program Bantuan Rumah’ allocation,” he quipped.