BAU – Residents in the district here want the Sarawak government to end the mining lease on lands previously used for gold mining so that these plots could be rehabilitated and developed for tourism, said Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Henry Harry Jinep.
He said although there has not been any gold mining activity in the district for several years, vast tracts of land are still under mining leases, which has prevented them from being developed for other purposes.
“The people of Bau have requested that these mining leases be disposed of so that the land could be developed by the tourism industry, and they want sustainable and environment-friendly development so that it could be enjoyed by the next generation,” he said at the Bau bicentennial celebration here today.
He said these plots of land have great potential to be developed as residential areas and tourism-related facilities, including hotels, resorts and golf courses, to support the Greater Bau development plan as envisaged by the state government.
“We want Bau to be the epicentre of Sarawak’s eco-tourism industry, capitalising on the Santubong-Bau-Sematan tourism belt... while also leveraging on digital technology.”
Henry said today’s event marked 200 years since the establishment of the first gold mine in the district in 1820, which was started by the Chinese from Sambas in Kalimantan, Indonesia, who migrated to the district in the early 19th century.
He said with the gold and antimony mining activities, the miners later established a settlement called Mau San, the oldest and richest settlement in olden-day Sarawak, with its own kingdom and currency, where the Chinese miners were actively involved in trade and commerce with the native Bidayuhs and Malays there.
“History has recorded that the Bidayuh and Malays first settled in Bau around the 1600s, with the Malays settling along the river banks of Sg Sarawak Kanan, while the Bidayuh settled in the interior (part of the district).” – Bernama, December 31, 2020
