SIBU: Sungai Rassau area is in urgent need of a road or way to connect their area to the nearest town which is Sibu.
At the moment, they are only connected to Sibu by river, namely using express boats or river transport.
Unfortunately, due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the express boat company has been heavily affected and has stopped operating since then.
This was shared by Deputy Minister for Transport II, Datuk Henry Harry Jinep when officiating at the closing ceremony of the River Safety and Hygiene Programme organised by the Sarawak River Board.
“We have a major issue in the Sungai Rassau area, which is water transport to bring passengers from their longhouses to Sibu town and back. The major problem that they are facing is having no water transport operating after the pandemic hit the state,” he said.
Hence, Henry urged the government to provide a better alternative to help them.
“Maybe we can have a water transport such as the one ringgit bus facility for the longhouse and area facing the same problem.
“We will try out such method for the convenience of the people so that they are connected to the town,” he said.
Henry shared that the only way for the residents in going to town is by using a speedboat which costs a lot of money.
“Those using such transport need to pay RM60 for a return trip and as such it is a real burden for the longhouse folk in Rumah Salim of Sungai Rassau area,” he said.
Henry hopes that the state government prioritises the connecting road between Sibu and the longhouse.
“We are upset to see this situation; what more when this area has been under the leadership of a veteran.
“We hope the state government can allocate funds for the road in this area which is 20km from the town with only 13km missing link,” he said.
On the same day, a total of 20,000 fish fries were released in conjunction with the programme where 2,000 were released symbolically by Henry who is Tasik Biru assemblyman.
“We believe that within a year when the fish breed in large numbers this activity will be a source of income for the villagers, namely those who are involved in fishing in the local area.
“We hope there is no use of poisons and so on because the use of poisons will be detrimental to aqua life. We hope the villagers do not use the easy approach to catch shrimp and so on,” he said.
He emphasised the importance of maintaining the river’s cleanliness is to make sure that the ecosystem is protected since this is one of the sources of income for the locals.
Henry also approved funding amounting to RM15,000 for Rumah Salim and RM10,000 for Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Rassau.
