By Yee Mei
KUCHING, May 23: So far this year, 63 longhouses consisting of 1,299 doors have been approved and pending disbursement under the Longhouse Loan Scheme, says Sarawak Public Health, Housing, and Local Government Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
“Currently, there are 261 longhouses consisting of 5,150 doors on the waiting list,” he said at his ministerial winding-up speech at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today.
The Deputy Premier also shared that from 1978 until 2023, the Longhouse Loan Scheme in Sarawak has benefited 1,048 longhouses comprising 23,038 doors.
“This involves an allocation of RM431.28 million consisting of RM231.28 million from the Federal government and RM200 million from the Sarawak government.
“As the funding by the Federal government is very limited, the additional funding from the Sarawak government has been introduced annually since 2020 by allocating RM50 million per year for long houses to expedite the transformation of the living environment in rural areas and to reduce the long waiting list of longhouse loan application throughout Sarawak due to overwhelming application received,” he said.
He added that to date, under Sarawak government funding, a total of RM139.08 million has been disbursed, benefiting 216 longhouses consisting of 4,688 doors. — DayakDaily
