Rosey (left), Lukanisman (third left) and others look at the various ‘sambal belacan’ entries for the competition. MIRI: Villagers involved in cottage industries should strive to come up with more creative ways to promote their products to help attract visitors, said Assistant Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Datuk Rosey Yunus. She said the state government has provided various types of business-related assistance to encourage more involvement in entrepreneurship among those living in rural areas, but the onus was on the villagers to come up with ways to make their products more attractive. “Use your creative thinking to further develop the local food products available in your village. “By ...

SEB says the initiative is in line with the state’s digitalisation and environmental sustainability initiative. KUCHING: Sarawak Energy is introducing electronic electricity bill (e-Bill) as part of its ‘Go Paperless’ campaign starting this month. According to its statement on Thursday, the initiative is in line with the state’s digitalisation and environmental sustainability initiative. “The electronic version of electricity bill will be sent by e-mail directly to customers who registered for ‘Go Paperless’ campaign,” said Sarawak Energy. Customers will receive electricity bill faster, view and access e-Bill anytime, anywhere. “Customers who sign up for Sarawak Energy e-Bill from Jan 1 to Dec 31 this year ...

KUCHING: The Sebuyau quarry has enough granite for the construction of roads and bridges in Sarawak for the next 60 years, says Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing. He said he was assured by the quarry operator – CMS Group of Companies – that it had in its reserve some 60 million metric tonnes of granite, ready to be used for construction. “Sebuyau granite is very important. Now we are building roads and bridges, the question is do we have enough materials?  I want to make sure that we have. So I went to check the quarry. Masing shows a sample of the granite taken from the Sebuyau quarry. On his right is Assistant Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development Datuk Julaihi Narawi. — Photo by Rusnan Mustafa “Sebuyau ...

Masing arriving at the Triso ferry to conduct an onsite visit after the tragedy that killed nine relatives yesterday. KUCHING (Jan 2): Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing said the construction of the RM848 million Batang Lupar Bridge has already begun and is expected to be completed in four years. Approved and funded wholly by the Sarawak government, he said the Batang Lupar Bridge will replace the current Triso ferry service. “The construction has started already and is now at the Soil Investigation (SI) stage. It will be around 5.2km long – the longest bridge in Malaysia. “By 2025 or 2026 it should be completed. Then we don’t have to use the ferry anymore,” he said. He was speaking to reporters after ...

Abdul Karim (second left) and his wife Datin Zuraini Abdul Jabbar (right) waiting for the fireworks show outside the Stadium Perpaduan after the Sarawak New Year Countdown 2021 on Thursday. Photo courtesy of Ukas KUCHING (Jan 1): With the availability of vaccines for Covid-19, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah is confident that the pandemic will be brought under control in 2021. He said despite a challenging year 2020, Sarawakians should not give up and soldier on with their daily lives, knowing that vaccines for Covid-19 will be largely available in 2021. “Tonight’s new year countdown is very significant and special as we will step into the year 2021. Although we have faced great challenges this year, we have to go through ...

KUCHING: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg says despite facing the challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Sarawak has been able to keep the disease under control and at the same time strengthened its economy. In his recorded speech during the Sarawak New Year Sarawak Countdown 2021 event at Stadium Perpaduan here last night, Abang Johari acknowledged the sacrifices of the frontliners in Sarawak in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and curbing its spread. He also lauded the effectiveness of the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) in dealing with the pandemic in the state. “We cannot deny that the Covid-19 has caused anxiety and tension all over the world. Many lives were lost due to the disease, and it had affected the economy ...

Nanta (fifth left) hands over a grant to a recipient. Seen from left are Lidam, Jacklyn, and Blikau. KAPIT: A total of 28 organisations in Song District recently received grants totalling RM360,000. When presenting the grants, Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi told the recipients to deposit the cheques into their respective bank accounts. “You requested for funds to run the planned activities and I supported this. The money is to help you to finance the activities. Please make full use of the money for the benefit of all members. “I am accountable for it. Therefore, please when you conduct the activities, make sure you take some photos and file a report for record purposes. You are required to submit a copy ...

Abang Johari (third left) cuts the ribbon to release the gigantic balloon to mark the Bau Bicentennial Celebration 2020. – Photo by Roystein Emmor BAU (Dec 31): The Sarawak government will explore new ‘gold and minerals’ in Bau to bring the development of the district to a new height, said Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg today. The Chief Minister referred the ‘gold and minerals’ to new approaches and infrastructure development projects rather than natural resources like antimony and gold mining, which were the economic activities that Bau used to be active in. He said he had received feedback from the Geological Department which had confirmed that the district no longer had economical deposit of gold worth pursuing for. “If ...

Abang Johari (third right) shares a light moment with local community leaders in Bau (left) after they present the memento — a gold nugget — to him. Seen from right are Abdul Karim, Manyin and Henry. Photo by Roystein Emmor BAU (Dec 31): Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Henry Jinep has urged the Sarawak government to lift the ‘mining lease’ imposed on certain areas in Bau to pave the way for new development for the district. According to him, gold mining activities in Bau, which started way back in 1820, had come to a complete halt in 2014. “Despite the cessation of gold mining activities in Bau, a vast tract of land in Bau is still under the mining lease, making these lands impossible to develop. “These lands hold great potential ...

KUCHING: Despite facing challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Sarawak was able to remain vigilant in keeping the disease under control, at the same time strengthening its digital economy agenda, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg. In his recorded speech during the Sarawak New Year Countdown 2021 event at Stadium Perpaduan here on Thursday, Abang Johari said prior to the pandemic, Sarawak had already put into motion plans to develop and utilise digital economy as one of its mainstream economic activities. “With the movement controls, we found that the supply chain has become more diversified and streamlined, and the digital economy including e-commerce, cashless payments and non-physical delivery has become a mainstream economy,” he said. He ...