Manyin (second left) joins the ‘blangi’ dance around the ‘sanggar’, with (from right) Lim, Sinang, and Johnathan.
SERIAN: Serian District Council (MDS) deserves to be upgraded into a municipal council due to the large area covered and number of people served.
Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong said the elevation would enable Serian folk to receive better service from their local authority.
He pointed out other district councils, which are now municipalities, have been able to get more funds to improve and maintain facilities and infrastructure.
“We must work hard together to achieve this,” he said at SDC’s ‘Gawai Mparing Sawa 2019’ recently.
He also said Serian would have two elevated carriageways, once the Pan Borneo Highway segment through the town is completed.
As such, he called upon MDS and the business community to take advantage of the opportunity to make Serian a must-stop for travellers, and to improve the local economy.
Manyin said with more traffic passing through Serian, more travellers would want to stop and rest in Serian if the town is clean, well-landscaped, and has ample parking spaces.
In praising MDS for organising the Gawai event, Manyin said he also hoped that Gawai Dayak could be used to forge greater unity among the many races in Sarawak.
Among those present were political secretary to the chief minister Dr Simon Sinang Bada, Serian Resident Johnathan Lugoh, and Serian District Officer Lim Hock Meng.