Bario, Ba’ Kelalan the ‘Shangri-La’ of Sarawak
KUALA LUMPUR: Good road networks can make Bario and Ba’ Kelalan the “Shangri-La” (paradise) of northern Sarawak, said Minister in the Pr ime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala.
Idr i s, who i s al so Chief E x e c u t i v e Of f i c e r o f t h e Government’s Transformation Vehicle, PEMANDU, pointed this out to the media after a dialogue session with Lun Bawang and Kelabit community leaders at The Westin Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, the community leaders, led by Member of Parliament for Lawas, Datuk Henry Sum Agong, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Putrajaya to thank him for the RM52 million 75-km Long Luping-Ba’ Kelalan Road in Limbang Division.
The construction of the road was completed recently.
Najib, in return, treated the community leaders to lunch at Sri Perdana, his official residence, at Putrajaya.
During the meeting with the Prime Minister, Sum requested for a few things, namely a new Lawas airport, a new bridge over Sungai Pengalih, a secondary school in Ba’ Kelalan, a road from Ba’ Kelalan to Bario and a road from Ba’ Kelalan to the border.
Idris, a Kelabit from Bario, said good road networks were necessary and vital, especially between Bario and Ba’kelalan.
He cited that Bario pineapples tasted very nice but by the time they reached Miri, they would be too expensive because of the high transportation cost.
Good road networks would not only ensure products get to the market in time but would also reduce the transportation cost, he added.
He expressed his concern over rural-urban migration which was affecting not only the state and country but also the whole world.
Idr is explained that one of the objectives of the Rural Transformation Programme was to reduce rural-urban migration by providing basic infrastructure like roads, electricity, clean water supply, and educational facilities, including preschools.
“ T h r o u g h t h e R u r a l Transformation Programme, the government is also striving to develop rural areas to encourage young people, especially young graduates to return home.We are thinking of ways to create economic activities so that young people can earn a living in rural areas,” he said, adding that in Long Peluan in Ulu Baram, the ‘tagal’ system (community-based fisheries management system) had been applied successfully to breed ‘empurau’ fish in the river.
Idris said the villagers could also set up a company to plant rubber trees and run rubber estate.
“In Bario, there is the potential for eco-tourism which can generate economic activities to stop the rural people from migrating to towns and cities.We are still thinking of more plans and strategies,” he said, adding that Bario was once home to 7,000 Kelabits but rural-urban migration had reduced their number to 2,000 now.
He also pointed out that rural students could perform as well as their urban counterparts if the headmasters, teachers and parents were committed and worked closely with one another to realise this.
He mentioned that SK Ulu Lubai in Limbang had won many awards because the school’s headmaster and teachers were committed in the education of their students.
Thursday, 24 November 2011 11:32 |Written by Adeline Liong
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