LAWAS: Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg will personally experience a motorcycle ride on the nearly completed 110-km Sibu-Kapit Road sometime next week.
According to the chief minister, he will ride from Sibu and he expects to arrive in Kapit in about one hour and 40 minutes.
“Before, we had no choice but to travel by express boats from Sibu to Kapit. Now, with the completion of the Sibu-Kapit Road, we can easily travel to Kapit by road.
“My wife tried to discourage me from taking the ride, saying that it’s dangerous. But I told her that for the sake of the people, it’s okay,” he told a dialogue at Kampung Punang, Lawas today.
Abang Johari said the Sibu-Kapit Road was one of the many projects implemented by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government to provide better basic infrastructure projects for the people.
“We are also in the process of constructing a road and bridges to link Kapit to Nanga Mujong (about 26km from Kapit) which will then connect to Belaga and Bintulu. Once completed, the people in Kapit can easily go to Bintulu by road,” he added.
Earlier, Abang Johari said he would continue to look for new and strategic ways to broaden the revenue base of the state.
“We have successfully done so by introducing the sales and service tax (SST) on the sale of petroleum products. However, we are still looking for more ways,” he said.
The chief minister reiterated his call to the people to safeguard the prevailing unity and harmony enjoyed by the state’s multiracial and multi-religious populace.
“We must protect our unity at all costs. If we are divided, other people will benefit,” he cautioned.
