Awang Tengah: Cost to develop rural areas unbelievable
To bring electricity to a village like Kampung Meritam here, the cost per connection is RM42,000. This is 21 times more than what it would cost in Peninsular Malaysia!
Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, who said that a similar connection in the peninsula would only cost RM2,000, pointed out that the tough geographical terrain and scattered population were the key reasons why it was tough to develop infrastructure in the rural areas.
“That is why even the RM30 million allocation is still not enough for Limbang,” he said when officiating at the completion of the RM5 million rural electrification programme (BELB)-cum-land compensation at Kampung Meritam here on Friday.
The RM30 million which he mentioned was the allocation given to Limbang district between 2009 and 2011 for BELB purposes.
Awang Tengah told those present that both the federal and state governments were fully aware of the need to provide more basic infrastructure and amenities such as water supply and roads to the rural areas but their efforts had been hampered by financial constraints.
“As such, we have to carry them out in stages because of financial limitations and other priorities. We know that we have much to do as there are many requests throughout the state. Your elected representatives have been pestering me non-stop but we have to be fair to the others as well,” he explained.
Awang Tengah, who is also Public Utilities Minister, called on the people not to believe the slander and lies spewed by the opposition because only the Barisan Nasional (BN) government talked and acted based on reality.
“The opposition can say all kinds of things but at the end of the day it is the BN government which delivers the goods, as you can see for yourself in Kampung Meritam here. This village was in such in a depressed state that I had to bring former Prime Minister Pak Lah to visit here a few years ago,” he said.
The visit by Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi led to the construction of a 14km road to this previously isolated village, electricity supply and better school facilities here.
This helped open up more economic opportunities.
Awang Tengah later presented land compensation to 66 of the 117 recipients affected by three land acquisition projects for the construction of roads in the area.
A total of RM483,149 compensation was given out for Pengkalan Rejab/Bong Abai/Telahak/Meritam (Phase 1), Meritam/Bong Abai Road and Batu Danau/Pengkalan Jawa, Bawang Obor road.
Tengah said the government would consider a request for the inclusion of another 59 individuals for compensation.
Also present at the function were State Development Office director Datuk Kamal Hussin, Batu Danau state assemblyman Paulus Palu Gumbang, Limbang Resident Maria Hasman, Limbang Divisional Land and Survey Department Superintendent Ahmad Raslan and local community leaders.
August 29, 2010, Sunday
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