KUCHING, Oct 26: Seventy households at Rumah James Saka in Ulu Sungai Mujang are beneficiaries of the Sarawak Alternative Rural Electrification Scheme (Sares) project which cost RM64,000 per household to implement, disclosed Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing.
“It cost RM64,000 per door to build Sares in rural areas. The 3,000 KW units consumed per ‘bilek’ (household) is used for free. Otherwise it would cost RM12 per household,” Masing revealed in a statement here today.
Rumah James Saka is located more than 100km from Kapit town in Ulu Baleh and is accessible only by timber roads, village roads and Public Works Department (PWD) roads.
As Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development, Masing is hoping that the area will also see better road infrastructure.
“The GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) government is proposing to build 77km of roads from Kapit Town at the cost of RM550 million under the 12th Malaysia Plan. The federal government has agreed,” he added.
Meanwhile, Masing, who is also the Baleh assemblyman disclosed he was grateful to timber concessionaires in the area for allowing local residents to use their logging roads.
He called on the concessionaires to assist the government to develop rural areas as their timber wealth came from rural areas.
“So, please give back what you have taken from the people in the rural areas. The government has given you the chance to make some money, the least you could do to is give them back what you have taken by allowing us to develop the people (sic) in the interior Sarawak,” he added. — DayakDaily
