KUCHING: The State Government will continue to provide the necessary enablers including basic infrastructure to encourage private sector investment in smaller towns and rural areas. Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem said the govermnent would make sure frontline agencies at the Divisional and District levels help to facilitate more private sector investment. “Private sector is very much encouraged to expand their businesses to smaller towns and rural areas to spread economic development throughout the State. “In cognizance of the vast economic potentials that can be tapped by the private sector in the smaller towns, the government will continue to provide the necessary enablers including basic infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity ...

A TOTAL of 1,324 projects worth RM102.45 million had been approved under Public Infrastructure Project (PIA) and Basic Infrastructure Project (PIAS) for this year. Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang said 637 of the projects worth RM42.10 million had been completed and paid while 398 of them worth RM20.12 million had been completed pending payment. “The remaining 289 projects worth RM40.23 million are being implemented and expected to be 100 per cent completed and to enable payment to be made by the end of the year,” he said in his winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly yesterday. Jabu was addressing the issue brought up by See Chee How (PKR-Batu Lintang) during the sitting on Nov 13. On a related matter, he noted ...

KUCHING: The Ministry of Housing will launch a Special Housing Loan Scheme next year to assist in financing the housing needs of the lower income group. According to Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, the scheme would be launched once all technicalities had been finalised and the management team had been put in place. “The scheme shall be part and parcel of the new approach whereby the provision of affordable housing by the government will be tied up with and supplemented by end-financing facility for house buyers. “Thus, at both ends of the housing spectrum, that is the supply side on one part and the financing element on the other, are being addressed simultaneously with this integrated approach,” he said when winding up the speech ...

LAWAS: Parents and teachers both play crucial roles in ensuring the success of pre-school education, which is the foundation for establishing a knowledgeable and competitive Malaysian society ready to shoulder the nation’s target of becoming a developed and industrialised economy by 2020. Hussaini (back row, centre) and other guests joining Sedidik Lawas kindergarteners for a group photo after the mini-convocation. Lawas district officer Hussaini Hakim said in view of this, the quality of pre-school education must be maintained and improved. “Pre-school education is not merely about knowing the ABCs, or how to read, write and count. Quality pre-school education is equally important in preparing children to enter primary, then secondary and later on tertiary ...

THE state government has decided to increase the loan ceiling of the Individual Longhouse Loan Scheme from RM10,000 per door to RM15,000 per door in view of the increase of prices of construction material. However, Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said there were no plans to increase the loan limit more than the maximum amount as this would reduce the number of applications benefitting from the scheme which has a limited annual allocation. According to him, since the scheme was introduced in 1976, a total of 567 longhouses had been built and 13,105 doors upgraded through an allocation of RM87.6 million as of Oct 2014. “This year alone, RM11.3 million have been approved for 34 longhouses comprising 753 doors under the longhouse reconstruction or upgrading ...

HOUSING Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg has expressed his support towards Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem in championing the integrity pledge. Prior to concluding his winding-up speech for the ministry yesterday, he told the august house that he would stand by the chief minister in his efforts towards leading a clean and responsible government. “Corruption has reached a serious level in the economic sector and should be tackled before it gets worse. “It is cancerous and a curse to society and with that being said, I strongly support the chief minister in his efforts to fight corruption,” Abang Johari said, likening corruption to cancer.

THE Social Development Ministry has proposed for Kuching Waterfront to be nominated for Unesco World Heritage List next year. Its minister Tan Sri William Mawan said this in his winding-up speech yesterday, hoping that the historical interchange as well as the interaction between human and architecture, arts and culture here could qualify the site for the nomination. “I believe that the history and charms of old buildings, culture and way of life, as well as the ambience created by the blend of the old and modern, could create a distinct identity for Kuching city and Sarawak,” he said. Mawan, who is also Pakan assemblyman, also encouraged private building owners to register their heritage properties with the Sarawak Museum Department to ensure that more of the ...

THE Housing Development Corporation (HDC) under the Ministry of Housing will develop and construct 3,508 affordable housing units at several main locations throughout the state within the next three years. Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said this was to ensure that the house prices can be controlled indirectly through the regulation of house prices which were lower than market prices based on the locality of the particular project. “It is also to cater to the demand and needs from middle income groups who face difficulties in purchasing a house in the open market,” he told the august house when delivering his winding-up speech yesterday. He said 10 locations have since been identified for this project; namely at Muara Tebas, Kuching (404 units); ...

KUALA LUMPUR: The Pan-Borneo Highway project linking Sematan, Sarawak and Serudong, Sabah, will be tendered out to enable it to be completed in a shorter period, the Dewan Rakyat was told yesterday. Deputy Works Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said if the project were implemented in a conventional manner through the government’s five-year development plan, it would only be completed in 2025. This will enable the project to trigger socioeconomic development in both states for the benefit of the people, she in a reply to a supplementary question from Wong Sze Phin (DAP-Kota Kinabalu) yesterday. Rosnah said the initial consultations were being conducted with prospective companies but information on the bidders involved and the implementation method could not ...

MIRI: The people in Lambir welcome the announcement by Assistant Minister for Communication and Sport, Datuk Lee Kim Shin that the road from Bakam passing by Bekenu, Niah and Suai to Samalaju in Bintulu is being considered for upgrading under the 11th Malaysian Plan. Lambir assemblyman Ripin Lamat brought up on the fourth day of the DUN sitting the need for a wider coastal road shoulder from Bakam to Samalaju. PRS Lambir chairman cum PRS Supreme Council member Pandang Semat said the road must be upgraded soonest as it is too narrow and accident-prone. He said priority must be given to the stretch road from Bakam to Samalaju as hundreds of vehicles are using it daily and to avoid any untoward accident. “We thank YB Ripin Lamat for taking up the matter in the DUN ...