Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin
KUCHING (May 24): All airlines flying into and within Sarawak must use aerobridge for the safety and convenience of all passengers, especially the children, elderly and persons with special needs, said Sarawak Minister of Transport Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin.
He said for this reason, he had written and conveyed the matter to the chief executive officers of the airlines during his discussion with them.
“We care about the safety and convenience of travellers flying into and within Sarawak. We want travellers to have an enjoyable and pleasant experience when coming to Sarawak which is also part of our strategy to promote Sarawak as the preferred tourism and investment destination in this region.
“I want to thank the airlines and Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) for their support in using aerobridge for all their flights into and within Sarawak,” he said in his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) today.
On airport upgrade plans, Lee informed that the ministry had engaged with the relevant authorities; namely Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad, Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia (CAAM) and Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) on the plan to upgrade and expand the existing major airports.
He said based on the data available, some of the major airports in Sarawak had exceeded their design and built capacity.
“The Minister for Transport, Malaysia has personally visited some of the airports in Sarawak especially Miri Airport to see for himself the actual situation and the proposed improvement and upgrading works that need to be done,” he said.
Noting the importance of Rural Air Services in Sarawak, Lee said the ministry had also conveyed to the Ministry of Transport, Malaysia and the relevant aviation authorities on the need to increase flight frequency, flight capacity and to extend the runway of these rural airports.
“Arising from our engagement with the Ministry of Transport, Malaysia including with CAAM, Mavcom and MAHB, their senior officers have personally visited and inspected some of these airports to look into ways to improve the safety of navigation and extension of the runway,” he said.
On a separate note, Lee hopes that with the opening of borders, the vibrancy of economic activities and the implementation of programmes and projects under the BIMP-Eaga Vision 2025 will regain momentum in the near future.
“Through BIMP-EAGA, all member countries desire to boost trade, tourism and investments by easing the movement of people, goods and services across borders, making the best use of common infrastructure, natural resources and taking advantage of economic complementarity.
“The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the economy and enabling sectors especially transport within BIMP-EAGA is profound but differs between member countries in terms of its scale and value. However, since April 2022, all member countries except Negara Brunei Darussalam have opened their borders,” he said.
Lee said in the spirit of enhancing bilateral cooperation, it is important to improve relationship and promote trade between neighbouring countries especially involving those inhabitants staying along the border.
“In the context of Sarawak, we have existing mutual cooperation with our neighbour, West Kalimantan, Indonesia established through a special platform called Sosek-Malindo since 1985.
“My ministry as the leader of Transportation and Insurance Technical Team under the Economics, Trade and Communication Cluster of Sosek-Malindo, has been tasked to hold discussion on transport related cross-border issues, including movement of public transport, vehicle insurance and logistics between Sarawak and West Kalimantan,” he said.