MIRI: Folks living in rural areas will benefit the most from the Mobile Community Transformation Centre (CTC) designed to bring government services to the people. Assistant Minister of Agriculture (Farmers Organisation) cum Assistant Minister of Public Utilities (Water Supply) Datuk Sylvester Entri Muran said the programme is a compilation of various mobile services across different government ministries, government departments and the agency. It was launched on March 1, 2013 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. “In big cities like Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Penang or Ipoh, they have an Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) while in suburban areas such as in Kota Bahru (Johor), Pekan (Pahang) or Gopeng (Perak), the government created the Rural Transformation Programme (RTC). ...

KUCHING: Plans to transform Bengoh into a new township are now in the pipeline, its assemblyman Assistant Minister of Public Health Datuk Dr Jerip Susil assures the people. “Plans are already there, but we can only implement once our people are fully ready. At this stage, I don’t think we’re ready yet because first and foremost, we need to have our NCR (Native Customary Rights) land surveyed and gazetted before getting the titles. “I am pushing for this now as only land with titles could fetch bigger values if we want to use them as the guarantee in applying for bank loans for business capital,” he told reporters after the presentation of aid to flood victims from 53 families in and around Siniawan, Bau near here yesterday. Adding on, Jerip said ...

Adenan delivering his speech during his visit to the mosque. SIBU: The state government yesterday allocated RM2 million for the construction of the new Masjid Darul Halim at Kampung Bahagia Jaya, Teku. Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem said the government would issue the cheque as soon as possible. “The construction will cost about RM4 million. We will start off with RM2 million first,” he told reporters after a visit to the mosque yesterday. Adenan revealed that land for the construction of the new mosque had been identified and hoped that construction would be completed as soon as possible. The new mosque is expected to be double the size of the current mosque and would accommodate up to 1,500 worshippers. Meanwhile, Islamic ...

MIRI: The state government has approved RM1.51 million for road upgrading and bridge construction work in Bekenu constituency. Assistant Minister of Early Childhood Education and Family Development Rosey Yunus said these projects would be implemented at Rh Ngayum Sungai Skrat Niah, Kampung Pintasan Tiris and  Rh Albon Tiris. Rosey, who is also the assemblywoman for Bekenu, announced this during her working visit to the three villages yesterday. Additionally, she announced a grant under the Minor Rural Project (MRP) allocation totalling RM81,000 to various recipients, including  the Women’s Bureau and Village Development and Safety Committee (JKKK) of Rh Ngayum Sungai Skrat Niah,  Kampung Pintasan Tiris’ women’s bureau and JKKK, Kampung Masjid ...

Awang Tengah (left) chairing the district meeting. LAWAS: The Public Works Department has approved RM3.5 million for work to address the problems affecting the supply of treated water in this district. Public Utilities Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said of the total, RM1 million would go to Gelugus treatment plant while the remaining RM2.5 million would be used to replace leaky pipes. “The Gelugus plant has to be re-comissioned urgently as the demand for water (in Lawas) has grown significantly. “For the record, the capacity of the Trusan plant is currently 20MLD (million of litres daily) but there is an anticipation of higher demands for treated water in this district. We need to increase another 30MLD under Phase II (of Trusan Regional ...

Awang Tengah (left) inspecting the Lubau water treatment plant near Betong, accompanied by a team of JKR engineers. KUCHING: People in Betong have been assured that the water woes hitting the division would be over soon as a water pump has been installed at the Lubau treatment plant. According to Public Utilities Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, the facility is expected to be operational today – although not in full capacity as only one pump is being run for now. Yesterday, the minister visited the plant to assess the damage there due to the recent flooding, assuring locals that he had instructed engineers from the Public Works Department (JKR) to take the necessary actions immediately. “The authority is doing its level best to ensure that the ...

KUCHING: The state Welfare Department (JKM) is confident that it will be able to register a total of 38 nurseries throughout the state within this year. Currently, 57 nursery operators are still in the midst of various evaluation processes involving agencies such as the Land and Survey Department, Fire and Rescue Department, Health Department, Local Council and the state Welfare Department. “It is very important that a nursery is registered with JKM as it guarantees safety and quality childcare services,” said Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah during a press conference at her office yesterday. Fatimah earlier chaired a meeting with the heads from each JKM divisional departments and various agencies which will be providing ...

The conceptualised Batang Samarahan Bridge. — Photos by Kong Jun Liung Jabu (second right) with (from right) Manyin, Fadillah, Nancy, Abdul Karim, Ali and others at the earth-breaking ceremony. KOTA SAMARAHAN: Work on the Batang Samarahan Bridge has finally started after a 14-year wait and is scheduled to be completed in 36 months. By January 2018, people of Kota Samarahan as well as Asajaya and Sadong Jaya will no longer have to spend an hour on the road travelling between these areas. The RM93.88 million project is set to benefit some 240,000 residents in the division, boosting socio-economic activities in the areas concerned with the new shortened travelling distance. According to Minister of Works Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, the new bridge spanning ...

Fatimah (fourth right) watches as senior citizens play a board game. KUCHING: Senior citizens make the largest group of welfare assistance recipients in the state at 22,870 individuals as of yesterday. The figure is likely to rise as Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said it is projected that 15 per cent of the Malaysian population will be 60 years old and above by 2030. As such, the state government had been more committed to providing elderly care while her ministry had also set up a committee to look into the developmental care of senior citizens. “To be eligible for the monthly senior citizen assistance, they must be Malaysian citizens with monthly earning below RM830. And they have to be aged 60 and above. “Senior ...

MIRI: The state government wants national oil corporation Petronas to increase the quota for competitively-priced natural gas feedstock as a catalyst to stimulate greater development of the petrochemical industry in Sarawak. Minister of Industrial Development Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said this when officiating at the Petronas Miri Registration and Licensing Office and ‘Business Opportunities in the Oil and Gas Industry’ seminar here yesterday. “We hope Petronas will grant us a bigger quota of natural gas at reasonable price to support our development of value-adding petrochemical industries,” he said of the state government’s thrust on downstream development in Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE). Awang Tengah said this was in ...