CM’s surprise Gawai gift for Belaga

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KUCHING: The people of Belaga have a wonderful Gawai gift this time around as Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem yesterday promised to provide clean water through gravity feed system as well as power supply from the grid system.

Belaga assemblyman Liwan Lagang said he was summoned by Adenan early yesterday morning to inform him of the good news.

For a start, a jubilant Liwan said the chief minister promised that all households in the district would get clean water through gravity feed.

“Once again, we have received a prompt and surprise gift from the same person – our chief minister, who has helped us before to abolish the toll at Metalun – has now once again come to our assistance.

“We are very grateful to him as he really understands the plight of our people,” Liwan told The Borneo Post yesterday.

In addition, Liwan said all the longhouses downstream of the Bakun HEP dam would also be getting uninterrupted electricity supply when they are connected to the grid system soon.

“I was told that the project would cost at least RM37 million to link all the nine longhouses to the grid system,” said the Assistant Minister of Culture and Heritage.

Meanwhile, Liwan thanked The Borneo Post for highlighting the plight of the rural people of both Belaga and Kapit who were still not provided with basic amenities and infrastructure such as road, electricity and clean water.

“I was totally surprised when I was summoned early in the morning by the chief minister who asked me how he could assist to ease the lives of the rural people in Belaga. This shows that he really cares for his people,” stressed Liwan.

On the proposed road from Belaga Town to Ng Merit, Liwan said there was a positive outcome from his meeting with the chief minister and hoped that the 150km road would be implemented soon so that the people would not have to suffer especially during festive seasons and during school sessions as most people in the area still depend on river transport.

Liwan believed the road would benefit at least 20,000 people living along the Rajang River downstream of Belaga Town once it is completed.

The proposed road project would be implemented by the government through the Jiwa Murni programme, to cut cost as construction works would be undertaken by the army.

He explained that currently there was already a logging road connecting the two areas, except that it needed to be upgraded and bridges had to be built in some stretches.

“We need the road as it is one of the most inaccessible areas in the whole of Sarawak except by river transport. If there is a road, we can prevent tragedies from happening such as the one that happened in 2013 when an express boat sank at Giam Bungan, downstream of Belaga Town that claimed three lives,” he pointed out.

Liwan had also said in the run-up to the Gawai Dayak celebration, the rural people were now rushing to go back to their respective longhouse by express boats which were always overcrowded.