Lawas And Limbang Set For A Better Tomorrow
An integrated master plan has been drawn up to develop Lawas and Limbang Districts, in tandem with the overall development of the State's northern region, says Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
To achieve this goal, he said the government had to look at the division from a different perspective...different from approaches used to develop other Divisions in Sarawak.
"Because of the peculiarity of Limbang and Lawas, they have to be developed differently," Tengah told 'ET in Travel' at his residence here during Hari Raya open house on Monday.
One of the approaches used, he said, was to provide better connectivity between Limbang and Lawas, through all the three modes of transportation, namely air, water and land.
"A new site has been identified for a new airport in Lawas so that it can cater to bigger aircraft, and provide better connectivity between Lawas and Kota Kinabalu, and between Lawas and Miri.
"The present one cannot be enlarged because of serious soil erosion. The government has identified a new site," he said.
Tengah, who is also Bukit Sari State Assemblyman, pointed out that the road between Lawas and Kota Kinabalu had been upgraded to allow a journey of within three hours.
"Lawas is also connected to Limbang through Brunei, and to Miri, and the rest of Sarawak," said Tengah.
He said that Lawas-Ba'Kelalan Road would be linked with better roads in the future with more allocation set aside by the government.
"The idea is open up large tract of land from here to Ba Kelalan, from there to Bario, and from Bario to Marudi," he said, adding that with road connectivity, the government would be able to open up oil palm plantations along the way," said Tengah.
Tengah said that his constituency was well supplied with electricity through Rural Electrification Scheme (RES).
"Works are underway to increase treated water supply to Lawas and Limbang.
In Lawas, the water treatment plant is still not big enough to cater for the needs of the increasing population. But with the Trusan Water Treatment Plant operational next year the water capacity here would be very much improved. It will be able to supply water to Lawas for the next 20 years."
He added that Lawas was also in dire need of a bigger and well-equipped hospital as the present one was lacking in facilities and personnel.
"If anyone gets sick now, they have to go Miri or Limbang, which is not practical because of the need to have a passport to go through Brunei."
"To avoid the hassle, most patients prefer to go to Kota Kinabalu instead, which is only a 3-hour drive away," he said.
Tengah also said that because of Lawas' peculiarity and physical isolation, the relevant authorities had to set up branch offices here.
"A case in point is the urgency to set up an Immigration Department office in Lawas so that those who need to go to and through Brunei can process their travel documents here.
"Otherwise, they have to go to Miri to do it, which is very expensive as it involves extra expenses," Tengah said.
He also appealed to the relevant authorities to set up technical or vocational schools to cater to the youth here.
"We also need a teachers' training college specifically for the northern region and Sabah," he added.
Eastern Times 23 Sept 2009
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