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MIRI – The terrible state of interior Sarawak roads are being made worse by the many lorries belonging to plantation giants plying them every day, said state Assistant Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Penguang Manggil.
The rural roads that are already in bad shape are subject to more damage because of these plantation trucks, he said.
Marudi assemblyman Penguang was responding to complaints on social media posted by frustrated villagers in the Lapok-Ulu Tinjar localities in northern Sarawak who cannot travel to the towns because their link roads have become mudstreams.
There are about 30,000 villagers living in dozens of longhouses in these areas.
“It is not that we (state government) do not care about the rakyat. We have allocated funds for the repair and upgrading of these rural roads.
“However, due to heavy rain and floods, conditions have deteriorated.
“The daily use of these rural roads by heavy trucks belonging to plantations damage the roads even more.”
He said he has gone to ground to assign contractors to carry out the repair and upgrading of badly damaged roads.
“The contractors said they themselves often face hardship getting their machinery into these areas due to flash floods.”
He said that as far as the Lapok-Ulu Tinjar roads are concerned, he has secured government grants to fund repairs.
He hopes the weather will improve so urgent repair works can be carried out.
Roads in many parts of rural Sarawak have turned into mudstreams as the monsoon season wears on.
This morning, in northern Sarawak, numerous populated localities were hit by downpours yet again.
The weather has been bad since last December.
The worst-affected areas are the interior Marudi district, the Tinjar and Bakong sub-districts, and the upper reaches of Baram district.
Residents have been telling The Vibes that there are commuters stuck in the middle of roads in the deep jungles.
A resident of Long Sipiling longhouse, Isak Ngau, said the road conditions are very bad.
“Teruk betul. Susah mahu jalan atau pakai kereta. Banyak kereta terkandas. (It’s very bad. Difficult to travel by vehicle or foot. Many vehicles are stranded.)”
The settlement is about six hours by road from Miri. Long Sipiling is one of more than 500 longhouses in the Baram district, which is roughly the size of Pahang.
In the Marudi-Tinjar areas, the roads are in bad shape due to the heavy rain. There are at least 300 longhouses there.
Many of Sarawak’s rural roads are still not tar-sealed. – The Vibes, February 18, 2021
