READY FOR BIG CATCH: Len (second right) with fishing safari participants in Muara Rejang recently. — Bernama photo
TANJUNG MANIS: The Tanjung Manis industrial area located in the Sungai Rejang delta was nothing more than a palm and mangrove forest some three decades ago.
Isolated and unpopulated, it was then known as Tanjong Mani. The major activity that residents could recall was the loading of logs that floated on Sungai Rejang onto vessels for export at the river estuary.
Much of the human activities at that time were concentrated in Kampung Kuala Rajang, Belawai and Jerijih, not far from Tanjung Manis. However, Tanjung Manis’ landscape changed when the Sarawak State Government set aside the area as a timber industries zone in the 1990s.
Today, Sarawak Timber Industries Corporation (PUSAKA) takes credit for placing Tanjung Manis on Sarawak’s Central Development Corridor map.
Timber industry centre
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Promotion of Technical Education), Datuk Len Talif Salleh, noted that Tanjung Manis is also part of the Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy (SCORE).
“Yes, there were parties that were initially skeptical about the development prospects of Tanjung Manis.
What’s more, the outcome could only be realised in the long run,” he recently told Bernama.
Several core areas were given attention by the government in converting Tanjung Manis into a new economic growth centre in Sarawak.
Unlike developing Bintulu and Mukah, Tanjung Manis had to start from nothing – from an unpopulated jungle and a challenging topography – to become a new township in Sungai Rajang delta.
Air links
The state government had to start from the beginning – roads, and electricity and water supply – to kick start development and woo investors to Tanjung Manis.
Len Talif noted that 77,000 hectares of land have been set aside for the ambitious Tanjung Manis Halal Hub development, complete with basic facilities such as roads, electricity and water supplies, as well as a port.
Tanjung Manis can now be accessed by roads from Sibu and Mukah and even enjoys air links provided by MASwings.
He added that following an infrastructure upgrade costing RM300 million under the 10th Malaysia Plan, the state government has taken the next step to woo more foreign investors to Tanjung Manis.
Political stabilty the catch
Len Talif, who is also Belawai assemblyman, noted that the government is looking for investors from the Arab world, India and China to invest in the Tanjung Manis Halal Hub. Among the industries in focus are the palm oil based industries and local agricultural based food products.
According to Len Talif, Malaysia’s resilient economy and political stability provided confidence for foreigners to invest in Tanjung Manis.
Developing manpower
He added that a major Taiwanese corporation has given its commitment to invest up to RM2 billion for an aquaculture venture at Tanjung Manis Halal Hub.
Meanwhile, Len Talif added that apart from depending on foreign investors, Sarawak has been working out ways to develop its human capital.
The state government, he said, has taken several preliminary steps to increase its skilled manpower in engineering and other fields to meet the demands for SCORE.
“We have initiated several steps, including the setting up the fund – Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (Tegas) – to improve the socio-economic standing of the Bumiputera community through technical and vocational education,” he said.
Tegas is part of the government’s strategy to maximise human capital development to meet the local demand and ensure that the technical and vocational fields are not sidelined. — Bernama