The Yang di Pertua Negeri Sarawak, Tun Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud last Tuesday performed the earth breaking of work on the development of bunker factory and jetty by Ascent Industrial Complex Sdn Bhd at Tanjung Manis Industrial park.
The land of 286 hectares for the Industrial estate was acquired by KRIS, a company, which is owned 70% by the people of Kpg Rejang through a co-operative society and 30% by Muslim Welfare Thrust Board of Kuala Rajang,
While Ascent, as a pioneer company to develop the Industrial Complex, has 140,000 hectares oil palm plantation in Nanga Badau Kalimantan Barat that can produce 1 million metric tons of crude palm oil (CPO) a year. The CPO will brought into Sarawak through Lubok Antu for export through the facilities being developed at Tanjung Manis. The initial cost of developing the facilities for bunkering and jetty will be RM150 million.
To Tun Abdul Taib, the event was a dream come true as it was the day that the people could witness a benefit that they could get by having a close relationship with their neighbor Indonesia. Certainly, on their own, they will not be able to provide sufficient facilities in the development and progress of the state.
He said Tanjung Manis used to be the most under-developed area in the region in view of it most disadvantageous locality of being cut off by numerous rivers and being sited on soft and soggy soil. However, it is being developed to a much larger area.
These areas have many rivers that make them difficult to connect by roads to make the costs of transportation very costly to villages, which are scattered over a wide area. There is a village in every river for example from Kpg Panipah to Tekajong to villages on the west of Pulau Bruit to Kuala Rajang.
But the people were among those who had been very loyal and supportive of the struggle of the Government being led by Barisan Nasional, the successor of the Alliance in the early days. For this reason, I had to think of ways to develop Tanjung Manis, starting from Kuala Rajang to Sungeri Serupai, which are very difficult to develop.
Hence, preparations have been made steps by steps to welcome more investors, who are interested to use the facilities that are available in the area. Most of them will produce things for export though those that can be used locally will also be produced in the area.
Tun Abdul Taib said it has become quite obvious that Tanjung Manis, as days go by, has become increasingly attractive to investors, who will not help to advance its progress but develop the capacity to open up new areas that will enable nearby Kampong, those quite a distant away in Betong and Mukah divisions to benefit from development.
Eventually, Tanjung Manis will be developed to become a place of interaction for people, who have same knowledge and skills to earn income from their own efforts to produce raw materials like palm oil from estates or plantations to produce manufactured or semi manufactured products for sale in Malaysia or export overseas.
Tun Abdul Taib called on the people, the young people in particular, to take into consideration the rapid pace of development in the area and discard the tendency of having very low ambition and not having any interests to raise the levels of their skills and knowledge.
Now, in the era of what the people can produce with their hands, they people have no reason to be shy working with their hands as before when the people, working with pencils, were considered superior. But now the people’s contribution is being measured by their contributions to the economy. Those who have better knowledge and more skills will be more in demand as the workforce of the State or country.
He called on the people to look for opportunities within the framework of ASEAN and strengthen the relationship among member countries so that they can work together like opening facilities to neighbors.
Tun Abdul Taib believes through such arrangement, they do not have to wait for their own capability to take more progressive steps to develop their own facilities. He thanked Ascent Industrial Complex, a company from Indonesia, which has already taken the initiative to develop the bulking station in Tanjung Manis to enable them to transport their products through Lubok Antu to Tanjung Manis for export to the world market.
He believes as they had been able to take the necessary steps, they should be able to undertake bigger jobs together in future. He thanked Ascent Industrial Complex for choosing Tanjung Manis to develop its bulking station. .
He said the state is adopting an open policy to work together with any parties, those who are working sincerely in developing their own businesses that have impacts on the progress and development of the economy.
He invited more people to invest in Tanjung Manis or anywhere else so as to enable the activities to be run smoothly. This is the ASEAN spirit that will grow more and more in the future and that will contribute greater prosperity to all members in the future.
Tun Abdul Taib believed the development of the bulking station in Rajang will create jobs for the people in Tanjung Manis either directly or indirectly. The development of Tanjung Manis as an industrial estate should also be able to attract workers from surrounding areas from far and near. But the new jobs will require skills and knowledge. The process will continue in future.
The process must be kept alive by the people, who must have an open mind and willing to work together with any interested parties, who can bring progress to the area. This has been the way that Sarawak has been developed after Merdeka.
Obviously, the industrial sector is being developed at increasingly higher percentage as a consequence of having an open policy. For this reason, the State is having the ambition to train young people with knowledge and skills so that they become more confident and be more courageous to involve themselves in activities, which in the past used to be avoided by Bumiputras.
But nowadays the people whether they are Bumiputras or non Bumiputras rely on their capability, training and ability to adjust to opportunities that come up in the process of development of the State or country.
Tun Abdul Taib said the industrial sector is moving toward 30% of the economy. For this reason, the state is changing very fast and more employment and business opportunities are being created for people, who have new skills and knowledge, in the development of the State and country.
Generally, the people must not ignore changes taking place whether changes in the economy or other sectors of development because whatever they want to they must pursue training and knowledge that are relevant to the development of the State or country. Then they can get better rewards or higher salaries from their jobs.
Tun Abdul Taib believed as more people with good qualification get involved in doing new businesses, whoever they are working with, not only in Malaysia or with Malaysians in Sarawak or in any places, they will be free to do so. They can also work with non Malaysians, as in ASEAN, in Kalimantan Barat and Java in particular can be expected to become more popular in future.
He called on young people, who have high and up to date ambitions, to make efforts to pursue the forms of employment that can increase their incomes in future; they must make efforts to acquire relevant knowledge and training for this purpose.
Tun Abdul Taib said Tanjung Manis is no longer restricted to the livelihood in the traditional Kampong as if they are living in an island that restricts their movements here and there. Now, they can drive to Sibu, which is a short distant away, to buy whatever they want; they can take their money from banks easily.
Besides, the people are having more and more facilities as the development is moving towards places in Mukah, Betong and Saratok. This is the way to achieve progress and prepare development to ensure that the new generation can pursue opportunities in for progress. The State is committed to carry out development in all sincerity with knowledge and skills to improve the quality of life of the people in future.
Tun Abdul Taib congratulated Ascent Industrial complex and the Co-operative of the local people, being led by Datu Haji Len Talif Salleh, the Assistant Minister of Manpower Development and Training, who is also the State Assemblyman for Rajang, for having taken the initiatives to facilitate efforts of foreigners to participate in the development of Tanjung Manis.
Generally, Tanjung Manis has more potential yet to be developed, to become one of the three focal points of the long-term development of Sarawak. One, of course, is Kuching while second is Tanjung Manis and third, Bintulu. It will absorb all the economic activities of few areas
He believed the people will be able to see how Sarawak will be developed in a way quite widespread and encompassing all races Malays, Ibans, Bidayuhs, Orang Ulu; all the ethnic groups will have opportunities to take part in the development of Sarawak in future.
Tun Abdul Taib called on the people to have an outlook that there will be more and better opportunities to come their way. Besides, they must have an outlook that they as good as the next fellow as long as they can pursue the same kind of qualification because the country even today has achieved certain degree of equality and openness that will give everybody a chance to better themselves.
He said that is why Sarawakians are so united and friendly to each other; the people whether they are Malays, Chinese, Ibans. Bidayuhs or Orang Ulu can work together. They must keep it that way because that is the path to progress and that is the path we have to strengthen and lengthen for the future.
Sarawak Corridor of Renewable energy or SCORE covers an area of 70,709, which is almost a third of the whole size of Sarawak. SCORE is being acknowledged as the largest of the five economic corridors in the country by none other than the previous Prime Minister, Dato Seri Haji Abdullah Ahmad Bedawi (now Tun Haji Abdullah) when he launched it in 11 February 2008.However, its population is only 607,800 people.
The corridor stretches 320 KM along the coast from Tg. Manis in Mukah to Similajau in Bintulu and extends all the way to surrounding areas and remote hinterlands of Baram district and Kapit division. Its key comparative advantages are land, energy and strategic location.
As the region is riddled with many big rivers and most of the towns are sited on very soft soil either on swampy land or deep peat soil, any efforts to develop the region must be preceded with the development of infrastructure, which is very expensive. However, the potentials of the region are vast. For example, the region has a vast tract of land, which is good for commercial agriculture and it is in close proximity with a deep sea, which provides potentials for the development of deep-sea fishing industry.
