BETONG: The Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) has established a Project Monitoring and Coordination Committee chaired by Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang to ensure the smooth implementation of rural development projects in Sarawak.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the committee was established after his ministry found that there were delays and technical issues affecting the implementation of several projects, including problems related to land status.
“The establishment of this committee was the result of the decision of the KKDW meeting itself when we found that several projects were facing implementation problems, especially in terms of ownership or land status that had not been resolved,“ he said.
He told the media after officiating the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the road from Kampung Kupang to Simpang Jalan Bajau in Rumah Rengan, Saratok today.
He said coordination between federal and state agencies was very important to speed up the implementation of the projects, especially those involving allocations of less than RM50 million.
“As decided by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, projects worth less than RM50 million will be handed over to the state government for implementation.
“This requires close coordination and we at KKDW will continue to provide full support to the state government in its implementation,“ he explained.
Ahmad Zahid also stated that under the committee, the scope of work for projects being implemented in Sarawak which currently cannot be changed due to several constraints will be done under the 13th Malaysia Plan.
“Currently, this is under the responsibility of the state government and although we have several constraints to change the scope, it is not impossible in the 13th Malaysia Plan if we can discuss in detail the joint implementation between the state government and the federal government,“ he explained.
Reviewing the infrastructure development in Sarawak, he praised the state government’s initiative in building coastal roads which not only connect the route to the Pan Borneo Highway but also play an important role in connecting longhouses and traditional villages.
One of the areas of responsibility for this coordination committee is to build a road connecting longhouses and traditional villages so that we do not face what is called denial syndrome by various parties, but it is better for the benefit of the people to do this coordination,“ he added.
“This is also part of the KKDW’s responsibility for and this is the main role of this coordination committee, which is to prevent the existence of ‘denial syndrome’ among stakeholders,“ he said.
He added that effective coordination will ensure that the planned development truly benefits the people, especially in the interior areas.
Meanwhile, the construction of the road involves upgrading the existing main road connecting Kampung Kupang and Simpang Jalan Bajau, from a gravel road to a paved road according to the JKRR2 Standard, with an estimated length of 16.9 kilometres.
It also involves upgrading the existing connecting road to the JKRR1 standard leading to the school and longhouse, namely: Jalan Cabang 1 to SK Sungai Entebu, 86 metres long, Jalan Cabang 2 to Rumah Anau, 86 metres long 100 metres, Jalan Cabang 3 to Rumah Lakon, 1,175 metres long, Jalan Cabang 4 to Rumah Rabiah, 1,646 metres long, construction of five reinforced concrete bridges, drainage systems, culverts, road pavement and shoulder as well as installation of road signs and road fixtures.
The project, which began in January at a cost of RM112.9 million, is expected to be completed in Sept, 2027.
