All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.
– Calvin Coolidge, US 30th President
This week, I had the opportunity to experience the Pan-Borneo Highway firsthand from the northern to the central regions of Sarawak.
No, it is not fully completed (yet) – and no, I wasn’t able to give my car the beans. I was driving a rental car; I am pretty sure giving it any beans was not part of the rental agreement.
That being said, I definitely enjoyed the long drive with the sun beaming in my face as I put my foot firmly on the pedal.
It was a sight to behold, with greens both to my left and right – only dampened by the incessant rain along with the squeaking windshield wipers.
His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong earlier this year expressed his wish to drive along the superhighway. A tour programme is being drawn up, at least according to news reports.
Definitely, he would have been delighted to experience the road connecting the tip of Sarawak to the end of Sabah.
No doubt, the mega project is bringing about unprecedented economic gains to the rural outskirts whereby locations that are remote are now more accessible.
It also allows the local businesses to prosper, opening up their products to the larger markets by setting up hawker stalls near the highway and at rest and relaxation (R&R) stops for commuters.
Desolate towns are seeing an uplift in fortunes as travellers now make it a point to visit these areas in search of delicacies as well as other produce.
It was said that late Chief Minister Pehin Sri Tan Sri Adenan Satem had championed the construction of the Pan-Borneo Highway project.
He was insistent that the Sarawak portion of the highway starts at Telok Melano – his own backyard, now the site of the zero-kilometre mark.
In 2015, the project was launched by then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who described it as a “game changer” for Sarawak’s economic landscape. He was right.
“This (the project) is not only about establishing connectivity from one point to the other.
“It has a multiplier economic effect that will help to stimulate growth and improve the lot of the people living along the stretch of the highway.
“This is a project by the federal government for the people of Sarawak,” he was quoted as saying at the time.
Four years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the zero-kilometre mark of the highway as a cadet reporter. It was my first outstation assignment.
I was assigned to tag alongside a senior reporter whilst doing a side piece on the location, a few months after the Telok Melano portion of the highway was completed.
I wrote and filed in the article on the day itself, shortly after arriving in Kuching after a two-hour drive. The headline read, ‘Telok Melano: From storm shelter to tourist attraction’.
It was a story about how the fishing village which was once only accessible by water is now being incorporated into a larger development project through the highway.
Many more areas have undergone similar experiences since. That is the impact of the development brought about by the then federal and current state governments.
Sadly, the construction of the highway was in limbo a short while after the then Barisan Nasional (BN) government collapsed after the 14th general election (GE14).
The project was supposed to be completed by June 2021, with work commencing in October 2015. The then-new government Pakatan Harapan (PH) terminated the contract of the project delivery partner (PDP) in 2020.
The move was sold as a cost-cutting exercise, with an expected savings of RM2.8 billion. The new completion date was moved to June 2022. Many things have changed since 2020.
The project was further delayed due to disruptions caused by movement control orders (MCOs) to curb the spread of Covid-19 along with labour shortage faced by the contractors.
In January, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said Phase One of the highway project will be completed by year-end.
Package 11 of the highway (Lambir and Beluru) is expected to be completed in 2024 following a change in the scope of the project. Phase Two of the project linking Limbang and Lawas via Brunei Darusalam is set to start this year.
It has been a long wait – admittedly too long for some. But it seems that the end is near and we’ll soon have a superhighway.
It will be the first step, among many, to somehow catch up with our Malaya counterpart.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
