KUCHING: Infrastructure Development and Transportation Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing said rural infrastructural connectivity was one of his priorities.
Masing, who is also deputy chief minister, said to propel growth, it was important to expand economic activities beyond urban cities and towns.
Infrastructure connectivity in divisions such as Mukah, Kapit and Sibu was still below 70 per cent, he said in his winding-up speech yesterday.
“The move to focus on rural connectivity is part of the state government’s Rural Transformation Programme. There is much to be done.”
A Road Connectivity Lab was done in 2013 to get a bird’s eye view of road network in the state, he said.
“The lab furnished the state with a comprehensive database that serves as a form of library on what, when and where we have built, and also where and what we need to build.”
Masing said there were about 1,000 kampungs without road access, and to build 4,402km of roads to them would cost about RM24.8 billion.
“As financial resources are limited, we need to implement it in phases. Areas requiring our attention will be scored and prioritised based on their viability, needs and urgency.”
Masing said his ministry’s strategy to connect rural villages and ‘kampungs’ was three prongs: First build the roads
using ‘Jiwa Murni’, followed by R1-standard roads, and later upgrade these roads when funds were available.
“As for funding, I will continue to knock the necessary doors,” he assured.
“Most of us have heard of the old saying ‘Rome was not built in one day’, and I do not have to explain what it means. What I wish to emphasise today is that ‘Rome was not built in one day, but it did burn in one’.”
Masing admitted his ministry would not be able to do it alone. Political will as well as commitment and cooperation from all quarters—from planners and consultants to implementers to contractors — were needed.
He also urged members of the opposition to work with his ministry so that all remote villages and ‘kampungs’ would be connected by 2030.