By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, May 14: The Kelabit community has lauded Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas for becoming the first minister to personally undertake a 375-kilometre overland assessment of logging roads from Miri to Bario in 2025 together with the Sarawak Public Works Department (JKR), an initiative they said helped shape key policy direction.
In a statement today, they described the initiative as a landmark effort that significantly influenced the Sarawak government’s decision to take over and gazette the routes as State roads, ensuring improved maintenance, safety, and accessibility for rural communities.
Uggah received a delegation of 27 community leaders and village chieftains (KMKK) from the Bario Sub-District at his office in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Complex today, in a meeting focused on rural development progress and ongoing infrastructure needs in northern Sarawak.
The delegation was led by Mulu assemblyman and Deputy Minister of Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring Datuk Gerawat Gala, Kelabit paramount chief for Miri Division and Sarawak Pemanca Caleena Laleng Sakai, and Rurum Kelabit Sarawak president Dato Isaac Lugun, together with other representatives of the Kelabit community.
During the meeting, Laleng expressed appreciation for Uggah’s continued leadership and commitment to rural development, particularly in Bario and the wider Ulu Baram area, noting that sustained government engagement has helped address long-standing infrastructure gaps.
The delegation acknowledged various development initiatives implemented by the Sarawak government, including improvements to rural road connectivity, utility infrastructure, and Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) projects, which they said have significantly enhanced the quality of life in remote communities.
Among the key achievements highlighted were 24-hour electricity supply, expanded telecommunications and internet coverage across Kelabit longhouses in Bario Sub-District and Ulu Limbang, as well as clean water supply projects that now benefit most longhouses in the area.
They further welcomed ongoing upgrading works on rural roads and bridges in Ulu Baram, as well as the extension of the Bario STOLport runway, noting that these projects are expected to strengthen mobility and drive socioeconomic development in northern Sarawak. — DayakDaily
