The people of Sarawak have waited for 52 long years for Pan Borneo Highway project to be realised. Five Prime Ministers came and went. The fourth Prime Minister, instead of giving a thought to the highway project for Sarawak which Peninsular Malaysia has been enjoying since the 80s, gave priority to building the new administrative centre in Putrajaya.
To him, Sarawak, with a low volume of traffic, did not need a highway, which, undoubtedly, was very expensive to build. Instead, he built Petronas Twin Towers, once the highest building in the world, the ultra modern Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang and hosts of other gigantic projects. He had also thought of building a crooked bridge from Johor Bahru to Singapore.
The sixth Prime Minister, who seldom came to Sarawak during his tenure of office, concentrated on building the second costly bridge from the mainland to Penang. With the island already connected by a costly bridge built under the fourth Prime Minister, was the second bridge a priority? For the people in Sarawak, the second Penang bridge was not a priority as the island city was also connected with a good ferry service. It was certainly built at the expense of the Pan Borneo Highway, which the state needed badly to precipitate the development of sub-urban and rural areas. Generally, Sarawak, as the biggest state in the country, was still lagging behind in terms of infrastructure development, especially in the rural areas.
For this reason, the people of Sarawak will remain grateful to the current Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Najib Tun Razak, who decided that the Federal government would build the Pan Borneo Highway and generally improve the road network in Sarawak.
He has pledged that Kapit, which has been inaccessible by roads and other places, has no reasons to be isolated from the rest of the country. The Minister of Infrastructure Development and Transport, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing, in his speech during the last sitting of the State Legislative Assembly, said he was pleased to note that about one third of the RM3.06 billion development fund was allocated for development in infrastructure like roads, ports, public utilities, schools and internet facilities, thus allowing digital economy to grow. He believed development of a digital economy without efficient roads networks would not go very far.
For example, it would not be possible to advertise fruits and handicrafts for sale through any e-platform if these products could not be transported and delivered to the buyers. Delivery is just the basics. The government must think about fast, efficient, delivery network in the most cost effective way in the era of competition.
Therefore, it is imperative for the construction of Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and the roads to be developed in tandem. As the construction of roads is underway, the laying down of IT infra such as fiber optics should have already begun.
So, occurrence of re-digging of roads resulting in waste of money, time and manpower can be reduced. A holistic approach is required to achieve the best of results in the planning and construction of roads, which take time. Once critical basics are structured, only then the engineers and road designers come to play. The implementation of road building is often bogged down with man-made obstacles and natural hindrances. One good example of this is the construction of the Sibu- Kanowit-Song-Kapit Road. It was targeted to be completed by 2018.
However, due to unforeseen man-made and natural obstacles, the date of completion has to be extended to 2020; some obstacles are factors beyond the control of his Ministry. Masing said his Ministry was entrusted to oversee the overall development of infrastructure connectivity in Sarawak, in line with the motto “MIDT Links and Develops”. In this regard, the Ministry has to provide adequate infrastructure, improve connectivity through implementation and completion of various projects like the building of roads, bridges and jetties. Breaking pattern of isolation He said his Ministry would focus on breaking the pattern of isolation of rural communities and decreasing the rural-urban social divide by linking them to the rest of the world.
Connectivity is the only way to make areas more accessible for implementation of development programmes. In this connection, the Ministry has organised various dialogues and local engagement sessions with local communities on the implementation of bridges along the planned coastal road, namely, bridges across Batang Lupar, Batang Saribas, Sungai Krian, Batang Rajang, Batang Paloh and Muara Lassa. The Public Works Department has completed the preliminary work for the sites of the bridges. The main components of the coastal road network project are the Batang Rambungan Bridge and Batang Igan Bridge, which will be funded by the Federal government while Batang Lupar Bridge will be funded jointly by the Federal and State government on a 50:50 basis.
The Batang Rajang Bridge includes a 17-km access road to Batang Saribas Bridge, Sungai Krian Bridge, Batang Paloh Bridge, Muara Lassa Bridge, Bintulu/ Jepak Bridge and the upgrading of Kidurong to Samalaju Coastal Road, which includes a connecting road to Bakun Junction. All the bridges will be funded and implemented by the State government. The construction of some of the projects is expected to commence in the middle of next year, with the Sungai Krian Bridge as the “kick off project”. The construction period is expected to be five years and most of these bridges are along with the Coastal Highway.
The ultimate objective of the expressway is to reduce the travelling time from Kuching to Sibu. This is important as the main population clusters will positively benefit from its development. Presently, the clusters are linked by the existing coastal road network, which is served by ferry crossings and the Pan Borneo Highway, which are time consuming. The expressway serves to connect these clusters to Kuching, but with another shorter route sandwiched between the coastal road network and Pan Borneo Highway.
The expressway will shorten the length from Sibu to Kuching by approximately 170km. Previously, it took about 5 hours to drive from Kuching to Sibu through the Pan Borneo Highway. The travelling time via the new expressway will be reduced to only about three and a half hours. Construction of expressway Masing said the construction of the proposed expressway would be divided into two packages; Package A from Kuching to Sebuyau, Roban and Sibu is about 255 kms long while Package B from Sebuyau to Sri Aman and Betong is around 100 kms long. The construction, besides contributing to man-hour productivity by shortening the travelling time, will open up areas, which were previously inaccessible for development.
Gains in economic productivity and the development of idle lands into productive assets may mean that the return in the long run will be more than expected. Masing said the construction of road from Long Lama to Baram Dam was no longer feasible due to numerous blockades. The fund for the project, at the request of the State Government to Economic Planning Unit (EPU), has to be re-allocated to build the road at Sungai Tunoh Resettlement Scheme instead.
However, the government will continue to plan, develop and link the direction towards the north east. The planned new road shall commerce from Long Lama passing Long Bedian (30km), Long Terawan and to Mulu National Park. It is the plan to eventually connect Limbang by-passing Brunei. The Ministry has also planned a road from Long Lama passing through Tinjar to the west, through Usun Apau and finally links the whole road network towards Belaga District. The development of the infrastructure network will open up the stretch of mountain ranges in Belaga and Baram District.
Masing said there was a need to look at alternative ways, as the resources were not infinite, to link rural areas with the rest of the world and the most cost effective way was by building Jiwa Murni roads. Although the roads may not be as good as the Public Works Department roads, but they serve the objectives based on constraints. As compared to the Public Works Department, a R3 to R5 road costs around RM10-15 million per km but building a Jiwa Murni road costs roughly RM3 million per km, which is easily 70% cheaper.
For example, building a Public Works Department road to link Long Luping community to Ba’kelalan would cost RM375 million but the Jiwa Murni road would cost RM38 million. The Jiwa Murni roads are to link rural settlements and not meant for heavy vehicles, which are the culprits causing most damage to the roads. Masing said the government planned to build short tunnels along the stretches of Jiwa Murni roads to deter heavily laden vehicles from damaging the roads.
The government will also place height restriction, which only allows normal road users to pass through these roads. Masing said road accidents would continue to be one major concern as most of them were caused by drivers’ negligence and their irresponsible actions, when on the road, which could be avoided if conscientious efforts were made to educate the road users. He said the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway, now on an active road network, was expected to be completed in 2021. Meanwhile, road users must be alert to signage, guides and markings along the roads and abide by the traffic rules and regulations.
The number of passengers travelling on registered boats recorded by Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB), as of July 31, 2017 was approximately 1.4 million. The cargo handled at wharves was reported to be nearly 160,000 tones. These figures indicate that the river transportation in Sarawak is very significant to the economic development of the state, particularly in the rural areas.
The river transportation is not a dying industry facing its twilight days. Masing said the State government proposed to develop two new airstrips as the Rural Air Service (RAS) played a vital role as a mode of transportation, especially in some remote areas, with the vision of transforming the areas into agricultural and tourism hub.
With the availability of RAS services, marketing and delivery of agricultural products will be done more efficiently besides boosting the domestic tourism sector. Trend towards bigger vessels Masing said the trend in the shipping industry was towards bigger vessels which required deeper draught to gain economies of scale. Thus, it was an opportune time to consider investing in the expansion of the existing ports to become deep-sea ports. Although it would initially cost billions of ringgits, but along the way, it would generate a high income economy to Sarawak.
His Ministry is seriously looking into a study to develop a deepsea port at Tanjung Po as the main gateway to the southern region of Sarawak, relocate Miri Port to the sea off Kuala Baram estuary and rejuvenate the business focus of Tanjung Manis Port Authority and Rajang Port Authority in serving the central region and upper Rajang River basin.
In the meantime, the local Port Authorities will re-align their business strategies toward optimisng the utilisation of port infrastructure and facilities to enhance port delivery performance, application of new technologies and improving work processes to synchronise with the government’s push for development of the digital economy in Sarawak Masing said the State government, to enhance the navigational safety and security in Sarawak waters, could draw on the practice and experience of Port of London Authority, which had implemented the Vessel Traffic System (VTS).
The increasing threat levels from the Sulu Sea or elsewhere recognise a need to deploy modern VTS technology to monitor, detect and to transmit information to the VTS Port Control Centre, which will be constantly in communication with the ships via VHF radio and inform the Maritime Police of any breach of security. Besides, it also provides navigation, weather and tidal information.
The system can be used for surveillance, passage planning and tracking movement of vessels as evidence of what actually happens when there is an incident while the CCTVs provide visual monitoring. Therefore, it is important for the state ports, namely, Kuching, Rajang, Tanjung Manis and Miri to set up their own VTS Control Centres. The government will request funding from the Federal government for this purpose.
Masing said the plan by neighbouring Indonesia, which had envisaged building a new administrative capital city at Palangkaraya, situated in the centre of Kalimantan, required the state to think of developing an infrastructure network that could have easy access to the border. Jakarta, which is over populated, will be maintained as the country’s financial capital.
Critical intervention initiatives Mas ing said the Cabinet Committee on Rural Transformation under his chairmanship had identified, proposed and implemented various critical intervention initiatives to fasttrack the provision of basic utilities and amenities, in the rural areas of Sarawak. Its Key Result Areas (KRA) groups have been tasked to implement 151 rural transformation initiative projects with a total allocation of RM71.63 million. The implementation of these rural based, people-centric projects is on-going and will serve to improve the quality of life of the rural population.
The projects that have been completed are the setting up of a Cluster-Clinic System at the Long Lama Health Clinic to serve as the centre for 11 other nearby ill-equipped Rural Health Clinics that do not have Medical Officers; Mobilisation of 15 Rural Clinic Visiting Doctor teams to cover 85 nearby clinics that have no Medical Officers at least once a month.
The initiatives include providing local communities with a higher level of care, the repair and upgrading of 13 dilapidated rural clinics, the completion of the Sarawak Rural Electrification Scheme (SARES) projects for 58 villages, namely, Ulu Skrang, Lubok Antu, Ulu Pelagus, Kapit and Bukit Mabong, Kapit and the completion of flood mitigation projects at 63 flood prone areas throughout Sarawak.
The other projects are the operations of 87 1BestariNet (1BRIS) telecommunication towers which covers 87 schools and the completion of survey work on residential lots, agricultural lots and home garden at Metalun Resettlement for the communities affected by the construction of Murum Dam.
Masing said the Cabinet Committee on Rural Transformation would continue to implement various rural transformation initiatives under the respective KRAs to ensure delivery of rural basic infrastructure and amenities to rural areas at the shortest time possible.
Transformation initiatives to be implemented next year include repair and upgrading work on 46 rural dilapidated schools, which are not involved as part of the merging exercise of Sekolah Kurang Murid (SKM), at a total cost of RM21 million, formation of 10 Rural Clinic Visiting Doctor teams to cover 29 health clinics and the establishment of Cluster Clinic System centred at Sungai Asap Health Clinic to serve four health clinics, namely, KK Sungai Koyan, KK Uma Sambop, KK Sarawak Hidro and KK Tubau. The other initiatives are the ugrading of four ex-logging roads, namely, Jalan Rumah Jubang, Tanah Merah, Medamit ; Jalan Rumah Embol , Lubok Pasu, Medamit ; Rumah Along, Ng Sungai Majau, Mujong, Kapit ; Rumah Tang, Ng Sebilat, Sungai Paku, Kapit with a total length of 25 km at the cost of RM20 million.
This initiative will benefit four villages with a population of 1,006 people. The other initiatives are the implementation of five Sarawak Alternative Water Supply Scheme (SAWAS) projects, namely, at Ulu Pandan, Bintulu, Long Seridan, Long Peluan, Kalampun, Lawas, Rumah Untat, Sg Melipis, Kapit and Rumah Ninting, Ng Jambu, Lubok Antu, Sri Aman, Nanga Semah, Daro and Kpg Penasu and Muara Lebaan, Daro.
These projects, with a total cost of RM50 million, will benefit 22 villages comprising 572 rural households. The SARES project to connect 54 villages with a total cost of RM95 million will be completed in the 2nd Quarter of 2018 while the implementation of another 51 flood mitigation projects are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018.
Masing said an alternative link road to connect Kuching to Muara Tuang was being planned as part of the planning to alleviate the traffic congestion along these areas. The proposed second Kuching- Samarahan trunk road will have a connecting bridge across Sungai Sarawak at TanJulaung Bako under the Mid -Term Review of the 11th Malaysia Plan. The estimated cost including the bridge over Sungai Sarawak is RM350 million.
The cost of upgrading Jalan Matang Jaya to Jalan Malihah and Batu Kawa Junction is about RM55 million. The request for the allocation will be submitted under the Mid-Term Review of 11th Malaysia Plan for consideration. The design for the proposed road has been completed.
