KAPIT: Participants of a special lab organised by the Upper Rajang Development Agency (Urda) must use the opportunity to formulate short, medium and long-term development plans for Upper Rajang.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing said local politicians, community leaders and heads of departments need to sit down and discuss, strategise and propose development plans, programmes and projects that will benefit the people in the area.
“This special Urda lab marks a major milestone in charting the way forward to formulate the short, medium and long-term development plans for the Upper Rajang.
“This is a bottom-up approach to provide opportunities for the people of this area to have a voice in determining their future, in line with Sarawak’s vision to become a high-income state by the year 2030,” he said at the start of the Urda Special Lab yesterday.
The two-day programme is being held at Kapit Civic Centre, and is attended by some 300 participants.
Masing – also Urda chairman – said the lab is structured into various sub-regions to look at the potential and needs of each sub-region prior to coming up with individual development plans, programmes and projects.
The sub-regions are headed by the respective district officers who are specially tasked to spearhead the development of their respective districts.
“I urge all participants to take this special Urda lab very seriously. Please put your best efforts during the discussion to ensure that good deliverables, positive outcomes and results can be generated from this lab,” he added.
He said as Urda chairman, the findings and recommendations of the lab are critical for him to present to the board of the Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda) for support and funding, since Urda falls under the purview of Recoda.
Masing also expressed his confidence that the lab will be able to address the challenges, issues and problems faced in the Upper Rajang area, with respect to physical and digital connectivity, utilities as well as socio-economic aspects such as education, health, security and entrepreneurship.
“Developing a vast and remote area such as Upper Rajang poses a big challenge to the state. It occupies an area of about 41,000 square kilometres with a population of only 175,000, or about 6.5 per cent of the Sarawak’s population,” he said.
The Upper Rajang covers the whole of Kapit Division, comprising the districts of Kapit, Bukit Mabong, Belaga, and Song, as well as Kanowit District in Sibu Division.
The parliamentary constituencies of Hulu Rajang, Kapit and Kanowit, comprising the state constituencies of Machan, Ngemah, Katibas, Bukit Goram, Pelagus, Baleh, Belaga and Murum, fall under Upper Rajang.
Among those who attended the special lab yesterday were Kapit MP Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi, who is also Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development; Belaga assemblyman Datuk Liwan Lagang, who is also Assistant Minister of Water Supply; Hulu Rajang MP Datuk Wilson Ugak, Kanowit MP Datuk Aaron Dagang, Katibas assemblyman Datuk Ambrose Blikau, Pelagus assemblyman Wilson Nyabong, Bukit Goram assemblyman Jefferson Jamit, Ngemah assemblyman Alexander Vincent, Murum assemblyman Kennedy Chukpai Ugon, Deputy State Secretary Datu Jaul Samion and Recoda chief executive Datu Ismawi Ismuni.