KUCHING: What About Kuching (WAK), the festival that celebrates arts, culture and lifestyle, is back for its third edition this year, running from Sept 28 to Oct 27. The annual festival, which aims to support tourism, culture, heritage and the arts in a bold and innovative way, will gather talented communities from Sarawak and showcase their best efforts in the many genres of arts, culture and lifestyle. Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah says with WAK having received great response since its inception in 2017, the festival has the potential to become an international event where talents from other countries can also come here to showcase their creative talents. “From what I can see, the organisers of WAK want ...

SEBUYAU: An additional ferry with a capacity of 32 vehicles has been operating at Sebuyau-Triso ferry point from 8am until 10pm since April 14. This was announced by Assistant Minister of Coastal Road Datuk Julaihi Narawi when officiating at the talk on ferry service safety for the local community at Dewan Pembangunan Sebuyau yesterday. Julaihi pointed out that the Sebuyau-Triso ferry service was getting busy, particularly with the completion of Samarahan Bridge and Batang Sadong Bridge, which were opened for public use last year and in 2016, respectively. “With the additional unit, the Sebuyau-Triso is served by three ferries that will reduce the waiting time during peak hours like weekends, school holidays and festive seasons from four and half to two hours,” ...

KUCHING: A 20km stretch of the double carriageway of Pan Borneo Highway from Serian to Pantu has been completed and open to road users. Pan Borneo Highway project delivery partner Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd (LBU) on its website said the completed stretch is part of the 75km Serian-Pantu Junction (Works Package 03) currently undertaken by Zecon Kimlun Consortium Sdn Bhd. It also said the opening of this first carriageway will give road users a glimpse of how it feels like driving along the Pan Borneo Highway on  Sarawak side once it is fully completed in two years’ time. “This 20km has already been paved up to the binder course level. Another 4km of carriageway is also almost ready up to the same level and we will open the stretch soon,” said ...

KUCHING: Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) will be introducing more programmes to benefit female entrepreneurs as well as those who are keen in entrepreneurship. SEDC general manager Abdul Hadi Abdul Kadir said in a press conference that they would be collaborating with the Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development.   “This would be the first time that we provide entrepreneurship development and I hope that through our discussion, we can unite the direction of both the Ministry and SEDC in bringing up the female entrepreneurs in the state. As entrepreneurs are considered economic catalysts, we see potential in bringing up existing entrepreneurs and those keen on becoming entrepreneurs to become global ...

KANOWIT: Local native land owners who have received their individual titles, issued under Section 18 of Sarawak Land Code, are advised against selling these assets for a fast buck. In giving this reminder, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan points out that with the present and upcoming infrastructure developments across this district, the local native land owners can reap the benefits should they choose to develop their land. According to him, the situation in Kanowit has changed in that it is now only a 30-minute drive from Sibu – a far cry from many years ago, back when there was no land access available. “Should they sell their land, they would get some money, but what about the long term? Eventually, they would become squatters in ...

KUCHING: Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) will host its inaugural ‘Mini Carnival’, meant to introduce its ‘Smart Meters’ pilot project here. The event is set to take place at Kampung Gita community hall this Saturday, scheduled to run from 9am to 5pm. According to SEB, the carnival aims to inform the community about the pilot project taking place in their neighbourhood, and also to share information regarding this initiative so that the community would understand the benefits of having smart meters, as well as the meter installation process and its implementation. “Members of the public, especially Kampung Gita residents are invited to the carnival to get first-hand information about smart meters and its benefits,” it said in a statement.   Kampung ...

MIRI: The Sarawak government, through Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros), will work closely with established oil and gas players such as Petronas and Shell to ensure that the state’s resources are managed effectively to benefit the people and the economy. Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg stressed that although Sarawak has the right over its natural resources, it may not necessarily have the experience to manage it independently. “We are still dependent on established oil and gas establishments. It is important to note that even though we have the resources, it is nothing if we cannot manage it properly. “Therefore, there must be a balance in our approach and in order to get the benefit, we must work and share the benefit with established ...

KUCHING: The residents of the Darul Hana resettlement scheme must never forget their roots, reminds Assistant Minister of Rural Electricity Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi. Adding on, he points out that it is imperative for them to retain and preserve traditions, handed down to them from the past generations. In this respect, he regards the inclusion of ‘sukan rakyat’ (folk games) as part of the activities in Darul Hana Carnival 2019 as a way to facilitate the preservation of the old values. “One of the objectives of this carnival is to prepare the villagers for the relocation to their newly-built homes here in Darul Hana; thus leaving their old village houses behind. “Even though they are set to move into these modern units, they must not ...

MARUDI: The Sarawak government is contemplating developing an agro park in Marudi to cater to rising needs and to modernise the agricultural infrastructure and industry in the interior. Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said the proposal for the construction of the agro park was made by Assistant Minister of Local Government Datu Dr Penguang Manggil, who is also Marudi assemblyman. He explained that such a move should be able to fulfil the demand of the rural population in the area and provide more opportunities for them to further develop the agricultural industry. “I will forward this (agro park) application to the chief minister (Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg) for consideration as soon as possible. What we need now is to identify the location ...

MIRI: Sarawak may be new in the administration of petroleum resources; hence it is important for the state government to take in ideas and suggestions on policies, programmes and investment for consideration for it to manage the resources properly.   President of Sarawak Bumiputra Chamber of Entrepreneurs, Datu Abang Helmi Ikhwan, said the ideas and suggestions made during the course of the deliberation at the Sarawak Oil & Gas Seminar and Exhibition (Sogse) held last weekend are very important and maybe useful. “Therefore it is hoped that the Sarawak government will examine these carefully and possibly, implement them. “The state government is noted to have taken the right step to set up its own Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) and the action ...