SIMANGGANG: The Sri Aman Development Agency (Sada) will be the launch pad for greater development progress in the Sri Aman Division in line with Sarawak’s aspiration to be a developed state by 2030.
Sada chairperson Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said she was confident of this, adding that Sada was committed in ensuring that every corner of the division would enjoy balanced development.
“Sada has formulated its development mould to ensure a sustainable and holistic direction. The framework is used as a guide in planning development with a sustainable environment driven by economic prosperity.
“The development plan, which is based on the wellbeing of the people and economic sustainability, emphasises six strategic focus towards ensuring that Sri Aman Division will enjoy the development agenda of the state government,” said the Batang Lupar MP at the launch of Sada by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg on Thursday (Oct 21).
Rohani said the chief minister had emphasised that Sada needed to optimise the agriculture and tourism industries as the heart of development in Sri Aman Division.
“Thus, Sada through its coordination model has held numerous discussions to refine the list of project proposals that have been submitted, in ensuring that each plan is high-impact and able to bring Sri Aman Division to a stronger level.
“Priority is given to infrastructure development in connecting hard-to-access areas. This move will be able to create a lot of new potentials for the division,” she said.
She said areas such as Gunung Lesong, Banting, Seduku, and Batang Ai would be developed into community-based eco-tourism hubs in line with the global agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She added Lubok Antu had great potential to be one of the main gates to the neighbouring country.
“With the relocation of the Indonesian capital to Central Kalimantan, Sada is confident that this will have a huge impact in terms of economic development not only for Sri Aman but for Sarawak as a whole.
“Therefore, Sada is committed to making Lubok Antu District a niche border tourism area,” she said.
Rohani added that areas such as Lingga, Pantu, Lachau, and Simanggang had vast potential to be developed as food production hubs.
“Therefore, Sada through its agricultural development agenda has planned various high-impact commercial agricultural projects in this area,” she said.
She said Sada had approved a total of 48 development project proposals under the alternative funding approved by the agency.
At the same time, she said SADA was also not foreign at the federal level, explaining that as an MP, she had introduced Sada in Parliament a number of times.
“In fact, during my meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently, I had the opportunity to explain a bit about Sada,” she said.
She said this knowledge was important at the federal level so that the federal government could also play a role in the development of the local people.
“Looking at Sada’s initiatives championed by the state government, this has proven that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) under the leadership of our chief minister continues to play a key role in the development of the people.
“GPS must continue to lead the state for continuity in development which has been planned and must be given the opportunity to fight for the interests of the people and the state,” Rohani said, thus hoping that the people of Sarawak would continue to support GPS.
