LONG LAMA, Aug 8: The newly completed Long Lama bridge will be called the Pehin Sri Haji Adenan Bin Haji Satem Bridge to recognise the contribution of the late chief minister to the people of Long Lama here by laying the foundation stone of the bridge back in 2015.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg declared this, this morning during the opening ceremony of the bridge following a request by Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau and the people of Long Lama who were grateful for Adenan’s contribution as well as to the present state government for continuing his work.
“I believe Tok Nan (Adenan) is happy up there in heaven because the bridge is completed. Although he is no more with us, I continued his work. He laid the foundation stone back in 2015 but never got to see the completed bridge.
“Despite much criticism by the opposition, they were jealous because they themselves could not build this bridge; we delivered, as you are witnessing today,” Abang Johari said in his opening remarks during the opening ceremony.
Due to the support from Long Lama folks, Abang Johari said he also agreed that the bridge be named after Adenan, because it not only bridges two places closer together, but also bridges the older and the younger generations closer together.
With the bridge now completed and Long Lama now accessible by road, Abang Johari said this would create more economic potential for the area including tourism, and eventually improve the socioeconomic wellbeing of the people here.
“Back in the day, we had to use the ferry to get to Long Lama. Now I can see we have traffic jams here, and even the hotels and accommodation are not enough.
“This means the development brought by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government is bringing change and development to the rural areas of Baram. Now it will take less time to travel on the road to Miri through Marudi.
“Also the areas here are very attractive; the mountains, not like something you see in Europe. In fact Europeans will come here to see all these,” he said.
Meanwhile, Assistant Minister of Coastal Road Datuk Julaihi Narawi said the 573-metre-long bridge cost about RM67.1 million and was completed ahead of schedule, entirely funded by the state government.
“This is one of the many bridges built by the state government, to connect the people from all over the state and bring us closer together.
“This bridge will give a very high impact on the some 37,000 population of Long Lama and surrounding areas as it will shorten the travel time to Miri through Marudi, which is about 140km to Miri.
“I hope with this bridge, the people’s socioeconomic wellbeing would improve,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dennis listed out several other requests for Long Lama development, such as the setting up of a stadium at the Long Lama Rural Transformation Centre (RTC), construction of a Rumah Sakai or Anjung Kasih in Long Lama town, a running track for SMK Long Lama, and to speed up rural electrification and treated water supply for Long Lama and its surrounding areas.
“We also proposed that the state government allocate plots of land lots near Long Lama for rural people to build their homes so that they would become a critical mass population that would be able to contribute to the economy of Long Lama town,” he said. — DayakDaily
