Sabah, S'wak leaders see gains for rural folks
Published on: Saturday, May 23, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Several senior leaders from Sabah and Sarawak hailed the 11th Malaysia Plan as good move towards bringing much needed development to rural communities there.Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said the plan focuses on developing better roads and amenities for the rural folks."I am glad that the target set by the Prime Minister is a continuation of the economic and government transformation programmes which is much needed by the rural communities," he said.
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He said better roads and supply of water and electricity in the interior areas would eventually attract investors and development and create job opportunities.Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri described the plan as "people oriented"."I am happy that rural areas in Sarawak and Sabah were given increased development for roads and amenities," she said.Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun said the proposals will enable areas close to cities to be developed as well.
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"For example, places close to the already developed Kota Kinabalu like my constituency Beaufort, Sipitang and Papar will also be urbanised."There will be more job opportunities for people and eliminate the need to move to cities like Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Baru to seek greener pastures.
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"This is something that we have been anticipating and it is wonderful," she said.The construction of the new airport for Lawas in Limbang division under 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) will boost the economic, social and tourism potentials of Sarawak and Sabah.Lawas Member of Parliament Datuk Henry Sum Agong said the existing Lawas airport was too small and the runway was always hit by floods during the rainy season forcing it to be closed, sometimes up to one week."It also can only accommodate the Twin Otter aircraft and with the new airport bigger aircraft can operate in Lawas," he told Bernama when commenting on the proposal to construct the new Lawas airport under the 11MP.CurrentLy only the 17-seater Twin Otter aircraft operated by Maswings provide the Rural Air Service (RAS) to Lawas.He said at the moment Lawas had huge potentials in the tourism industry but the limited flights there made this northern Sarawak region quite difficult to promote as a tourism destination.He said since Lawas shared its border with Sipitang Sabah, many areas of joint cooperation between the two states could be explored futher.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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