By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 25: Minister of Utilities and Telecommunication (MUT) Sarawak Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi, has revealed a concerning increase in cable theft cases throughout Sarawak, amounting to a 67 per cent rise in the first quarter of 2024.
Julaihi disclosed that from January to March 2024, a total of 45 cases were recorded compared to 27 cases reported for the same period last year.
“This shows that cable theft is one of the most targeted assets by thieves,” he told a press conference after chairing a meeting held at the Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) Tower in The Isthmus here today.
Meanwhile, Julaihi said MUTS and its agencies incurred a total of RM19.7 million in losses in 2023 due to vandalism of the ministry’s electricity, water supply telecommunication, and gas supply assets throughout Sarawak.
According to him, the loss is an increase of 423 per cent as compare to only RM3.8 million in 2022.
As such, he said, MUT and its agencies including relevant authorities want to organise a large scale campaign involving 3,000 participants Sarawak to educate the public on the matter.
“We are still waiting for confirmation from Office of the Premier of Sarawak (on the official date), but our target, it is expected to be launched in either June or July at Borneo Convention Center Kuching (BCCK).
“Actually, the campaign has started last year in three schools, namely Sekolah Seni Malaysia, Sarawak, school in Sematan, as well as in Sibu, with the cooperation from Ministry of Education (MOE) and other relevant agencies
“There would also be a follow up at the division level to ensure better awareness among the public,” he added. — DayakDaily
