Build farm roads to every longhouse, SWP urges govt

Munan Laja

KUCHING, Oct 12: Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) today proposed the government allocate 10km of farm road to each and every longhouse as the next wave of development to transform the rural areas.

Its president, Munan Laja, said with these roads, Native Customary Right (NCR) land around longhouses could be cultivated with various types of crops.

There are roughly 4,000 longhouses across the state, but with hardly any agricultural activities.

Munan insisted out that timber companies must help longhouses that lie within their timber concession areas in order to turn this proposal into a reality.

“A discussion between the government and the timber companies is of prime importance on this matter.

“Thank you for what has been done to the rural populace, giving them housing materials, jetty, solar energy and gravity feed water all this while, but there must be economic activities and sources of income to keep the longhouses alive,” he reckoned.

Stressing that SWP’s farm road proposal was of “prime importance”, he urged the government to look seriously into this matter to revive what he described as the “glory of longhouses and villages” in the state. — DayakDaily