KUCHING, April 16: Residents of Kampung Sorot Benuk in Padawan here want their village to be gazetted so that they can have an officially appointed headman and be eligible for government allocations under the minor rural project (MRP) programme to build infrastructure and facilities.
Sanjan Daik, a political secretary to Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman, explained in a press release today that Kampung Sorot is traditionally part of Kampung Segu Bunuk and sharing a communal boundary with Kampung Simpok and Kampung Jambu in Padawan.
“Six years ago, the state government opened up a rubber planting scheme project in Kampung Sorot and since then, many people from Kampung Segu Bunuk started to move there,” he said.
According to the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) chairman Julis Nebir Ponet, about 60 families or houses with an estimated population of about 300 people are staying in Sorot Benuk today.
Julis added that they had submitted their application to have their village gazetted about three years ago to Padawan Sub-district office at Bayur but it had yet to receive approval from the government.
“We really need our village to be gazetted so that we can ask for funds to build a community hall, a church, a football field and an Internet centre,” he added.
Nevertheless, the villagers were happy as they would be able to enjoy 24-hour electricity supply as Sesco had just completed domestic wiring in the village.
As for water, the villagers are still relying on gravity-feed water supply as the village is still in the process of applying for treated water supply from the water board.
During the visit, Sanjan presented a grant of RM3,000 from Chong, who is also the Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, to the JKKK. — DayakDaily
