by Yee Mei
BINTULU, March 5: Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has announced plans to develop approximately 300 acres of land in the Sungai Plan area into housing estates, catering to both locals and workers of companies operating in the region.
He said this was what was agreed on during a meeting with the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) at the exchange of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) among Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd, the Sarawak Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB), and BDA and officiation of the Sungai Plan Bintulu Restoration Programme under the ‘PETRONAS Menyemai Masa Hadapan’ programme at a hotel here today.
“What happened at Sungai Plan was that we were developing Kidurong without realising what would happen to the surrounding area, especially if we have a factory. We forgot to set up accommodation for our workers and in the end, they became ‘setinggan’ (squatters) and after that, they could not manage their lives and our environment got exposed.
“Three hundred acres is big, but we have to have a master plan. We have many models, some by companies for them to place their workers, another one is for locals to purchase with infrastructure (available), (such as) playgrounds and for residents to manage waste in the area so as not to pollute the river,” he said.
He added that if PETRONAS wants to develop housing for their workers, the Sarawak government is open to it as a joint venture along with other companies.
“Kidurong — that area can be opened up to other areas once the Pan Borneo Highway is accessible. We can develop Jepak right up to Tatau. I want to expand Bintulu and extend this development to beyond it,” he said.
Malaysia LNG chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director Mohamed Syazwan Abdullah @ Laga Jenggi, Controller of Environmental Quality Jack Liam, PETRONAS Upstream Business Malaysia Assets vice president Hasliza Othman, Deputy Minister for Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Sarawak Datuk Len Talif Salleh, BDA deputy chairman Dato Haidar Khan Asghar Khan, and Sarawak State SecretaryDatuk Seri Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki were also present. — DayakDaily
