Gradual improvements in infrastructure issues in each area in Sarawak must be updated and disclosed to the people so that they understand the status of the relevant projects.
Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (GPS-Dudong) noted that there must be progress phases with clear completion timelines laid out in each area.
While the Sarawak government had committed to implementing wider coverage of water and electricity supply, he said many people had complained that there was still limited or difficult access to water and electricity supply in scattered areas.
Another concern that had been raised often, he added, was the issue of telecommunication network connection.
“Although many places already have the infrastructure of pipes and cables installed, they do not carry the utility supplies needed by many.
“The government had stated in the State Budget 2023 that 7,000 telecom towers need to be built to achieve 99 per cent coverage throughout Sarawak,” he said when debating on the State Budget 2023 at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting on Thursday (Nov 24).
However, Tiong said many people in rural and suburban areas had raised the issue that they do not even have nominal network signals.
“The people will not be pleased with the numbers that we presented on paper and will only get more disappointed by the lack of action and improvement to their actual living conditions,” he said.
As such, he suggested that the relevant agencies develop a series of projects such as telecom towers and utility supplies that truly benefit the people.
He asserted that solutions must be implemented with precision and gradually completed on time with clear timelines.
This, he said, is better than bringing piecemeal solutions with half-finished projects to any area, which only makes the people wait for development indefinitely.
