Datuk Sebastian Ting
Dennis holds a newspaper report on the STF statement on Oct 17.
MIRI: The construction of road to Mulu National Park is necessary to make up for the reduction in MASwings flight frequency to Mulu next year.
Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting, in a statement yesterday, said there’s an urgency in building the road from Miri to Mulu National Park, which is expected to suffer RM5 million-loss next year due to the flight reduction. He said the road was important for tourists and also people in Miri, Limbang, Lawas, Bintulu and Brunei which have a total population of 1.18 million.
“I agree with the statement by Sarawak Tourism Federation president Philip Yong that the
state government should take a serious view into this flight reduction issue including the elimination of dynamic fare structure, and introduce pricing cap on airfares for flights within Sarawak and Sabah.
“In the last DUN sitting, I have said that the only access to Mulu for tourists is by air, which is also subject to flight delay and even cancellation due to the inclement weather,” he said.
He added that no tourist would want to travel half way round the world to be told that they could not get to the Mulu National Park due to bad weather.
Ting said the new road could be built right up to the jetty near the village just outside the boundary of the national park.
The jetty, he added, must have facilities such as secured car parks, toilets, and shops selling local produce, in order to create job opportunities and income for the local people.
Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau also talked about the same subject. He said the government must now create land connectivity from Miri to Long Iman in Ulu Tutoh, and from there, take a 30-minute boat ride to Mulu National Park.
“This overland route must now be a top priority to support our tourism industry,” he said when contacted for his comment on the matter which was highlighted by Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF) yesterday.
According to Dennis, it only took two hours from Miri to Long Lama by land, another one hour from Long Lama to Long Bedian Sub-District and two hours from there to a Penan settlement of Long Iman. From there, one can take a 30-minute boat ride to Mulu National Park.
“It is a bit longer compared to flying, but land transport will not be affected by bad weather, and what is more interesting is that the journey passes through the beautiful countryside.
“While we hope that MASwings will improve its services to Mulu, we have to accept the fact that since it (MASwings) is operating on a business concept, its decision is pure business.
“Therefore, the best option is to build road connectivity to enable tour operators and visitors to make their holiday plans without having to worry about flight cancellations,” he said.