SIBU, March 8: The government needs to reclaim land for development purposes to achieve the vision of a developed region by 2030.
These lands involved those that are owned or subject to NCR land claims to implement infrastructure development projects for public interest and to directly benefit the people, such as providing more infrastructure.
“The Sarawak government emphasises the development of four basic infrastructures, namely water, roads, electricity and digital connectivity to achieve the vision of a developed region by 2030. Water supply is important in every aspect not only for daily use, but also in the agricultural and industrial sectors,” said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan when presenting land compensation cheques to 386 land owners today.
However, at times the government encountered problems when land owners refused to cooperate.
“We aim to develop the whole of Sarawak, including those in the rural areas, so that everyone can enjoy facilities such as electricity supply, water supply, road connectivity, and even telecommunication.
“However, we do face problems where people refuse to cooperate, so, we cannot go in and we cannot develop that place.
“Sometimes, all we need is that little bit of land, but they do not allow us to enter. So, how are we going to develop the area? Hence, everyone’s cooperation is needed,” he stressed.
He assured that for all land reclaimed by the government, it would compensate the affected landowners fairly.
At the function, the 386 landowners received total compensation amounting to RM13,634,106.42.
Their lands were involved in three projects namely the Kampung Banyok Extension Scheme, the Proposed Sungai Maaw/ Sungai Merah 132KV Transmission Line Project, and the Upgrading of Sarawak Former Log Roads Project. — DayakDaily
