By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 20: Stampin MP and Padungan assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen has pointed out that nearly two decades after its extension, Kuching International Airport (KIA) has yet to secure a single regular jumbo jet flight, which he said proves the runway remains under-utilised and does not justify the State government’s RM10 billion plan for a new airport.
Chong, who is also Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman, stressed that KIA’s 3,780-metre runway, completed in 2006, is only slightly shorter than Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s (KLIA) 4,000-metre runway and is capable of handling wide-bodied aircraft such as Boeing 747/777 and the Airbus A380-800, which carries up to 850 passengers.
He was responding to Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap, whom he accused of being “ignorant” of KIA’s capacity in suggesting the need for a new airport.
“Almost 20 years have passed, yet the State government has still not managed to secure sufficient passenger load to attract airlines to operate Boeing 747, Boeing 777, or Airbus A380-800 flights to and from Sarawak on a regular schedule,” Chong said in a statement today.
Instead of pursuing a mega project, he said, expanding KIA’s existing terminal would be more than sufficient to cater for future passenger growth.
Chong also questioned the State government’s spending priorities, highlighting that many housing areas in Kuching continue to suffer from broken drains, poor roads, and inadequate street lighting, with local authorities often citing “no money” to address such issues.
“It is a misplaced priority on the part of the State government to splash more than RM10 billion on a new airport when the existing one can more than serve the purpose,” he said, adding that the government should focus on providing Sarawakians with “world-class” living conditions rather than building “world-class” structures to flaunt the State’s wealth.
Chong further advised the State government to use the people’s wealth for their benefit rather than flaunting it through mega projects.
“The RM10 billion could instead be used to upgrade drains, roads, and street lighting in housing and commercial areas; provide grants to small and micro businesses to cope with e-invoicing and digitalisation; offer bursaries to more Sarawak students for tertiary education, not only those enrolled in State government-owned universities; and assist the poor and sick with medical expenses,” he said. — DayakDaily
