A road maintenance mechanism testbed by the Public Works Department (JKR) revealed a RM15 million allocation is insufficient to deal with the scope of urgent road and bridge repairs due to havoc wreaked by inclement weather in Baram.
The findings of this pilot project, which is divided into three packages costing RM5 million each, was presented at a project monitoring and coordination meeting for the Miri Division today.
“This pilot project was launched in Baram to deal efficiently with roads and bridges affected by rainy season, where our Premier was to be addressed with a proper mechanism.
“However, there is much work to be done to redress the shortcomings in some projects which have been slightly delayed. We need to improve the mechanism first before we can introduce it to other places such as Murum,” said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas in a press conference after chairing a meeting involving Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) elected representatives in Miri.
He said in Baram, it was found the RM5 million allocation for each of the three packages was insufficient to cover the cost for road repairs undertaken by service providers, whereas red tape in bridge repairs requiring service orders to be issued by JKR needed to be addressed accordingly.
“This matter has to be taken seriously, as the severity of the impact of bad weather in Sarawak’s interior should not be underestimated.
The Deputy Chief Minister is right to admit that the matter of the appalling infrastructure in the interior has to be taken seriously and the situation should not be under-estimated.
Yet, despite that, logging companies who made billions out of stripping native lands and who caused this damage have got away with failing to fulfil their commitments in terms of proper infrastructure, let alone paying proper taxes on their grotesque profits over the decades.
Now they are leaving the state to pick up the pieces and pay for the state government’s failure to exact the correct contributions promised to the people.
Except, it is clear that Uggah’s GPS state government are not prepared to divert the right percentage of its wealthy revenues to the task. Three packages to supposedly tackle the Baram bridge and road crisis were allocated just RM5 million each.
Compare that to the over HALF BILLION RINGGIT which is the projected allocation for a jolly train project that nobody really appears to need in Kuching.
No wonder that allocation has proven insufficient. GPS’s selfish spending that for decades has concentrated on a golden circle of crony families and interests in the coastal cities must give way to a new priority – it is time to uplift the people of the interior who has suffered for far too long in abject poverty whilst their resources have been stripped by others.
Stop the constant projects for things Sarawak does not need. Start diverting the huge sums being wasted into redistributing the benefits of Sarawak’s surpluses to those who need it most.