GEDONG, Jan 1: A small dam costing about RM120,000 will be built at Gunung Keniong to solve the water woes faced by 875 people from five villages in Gedong.
The affected villages are Kampung Keniong Baru, Keniong Lam, Keniong Jaya, Keniong Semerlap and Kampung Tebun.
Assistant Minister of Entrepreneur and Small, Medium Enterprise (SME) Development Datuk Naroden Majais said the project would take about two months to complete and the water would be supplied to the five villages through gravity feed.
“In 2018, a similar project was carried out at Kampung Gayau Padok and now it is able to supply water free-of-charge to some 30 villages in the area,” he said in a statement in conjunction with the New Year celebration at Ulu Gedong in Sibau Rumbau here today.
Naroden, who is also Gedong assemblyman, reiterated even though Sarawak was an opposition state at the national level, the state government would ensure that the needs of Sarawakians are met, especially in terms of basic infrastructure.
He added that the focus of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) remained on basic infrastructure development.
“As we all know, federal allocations have stopped for things like `Ketua Kaum’ allowances, single mother allowances, fishermen and farmers’ assistance. In addition, Putrajaya has also shelved some projects.
“As such, GPS has no alternative but to use its own resources to subsidise or develop these projects on its own.
“To ensure that the development momentum does not stall, the chief minister tabled an RM11 billion state budget for 2019. This is by far the biggest in the history of Sarawak,” he said.
Naroden also said the GPS-led government would defend the rights of the state by reclaiming those that are enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963. — DayakDaily
