Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan
LAWAS (Oct 6): The state government responded to the economic hardship faced by the people by mopping up unsold durians and other agriculture produce from farmers during the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
Producers in Lawas and Limbang fruit belt have been stumped by the travel restrictions by the authorities and Brunei closing her border as Covid-19 preventive steps, effectively cutting of the lucrative market in the sultanate since 2020.
“We are grateful that Sarawak Farmers Organisation under the Sarawak Ministry of Agriculture stepped in to buy up the seasonal fruits and other agricultural products that could not be marketed,” he said.
Awang Tengah was speaking at the joint presentation ceremony of appointment letters to Lawas community chiefs, contributions from Bukit Sari state constituency service centre, fisheries input assistance for Lawas district fishermen, Sarawak micro credit loan scheme and his Minor Rural Project grants in Lawas recently.
The Bukit Sari assemblyman thanked Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail for extending equipment aid to the fishing community and purchasing surplus products from the local farmers in Limbang division.
He said this reflected the government’s sensitivity to the plight of the communities in Limbang and Lawas.
Awang Tengah, who is also Minister of International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development, said his ministry had also rolled out several initiatives including micro credit loans through Agro Bank and Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) to assist small and medium enterprises in the state.
He informed that the state government through a micro credit scheme provides a maximum loan of RM50,000 which is interest-free for the first three years under the state economic stimulus package under the ministry.
Also present at the function were federal Deputy Transport Datuk Henry Sum Agong, Limbang Division Resident Ir Ahmad Denney Ahmad Fauzi, Northern Region Development Agency director Datu Ubaidillah Latip, Lawas district officer Ladin Atok and other local dignitaries.