By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 28: The Sarawak government is actively implementing strategies to harness the potential of natural resources, particularly rivers, to drive economic and agricultural growth in the State.
According to a Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas) news report, Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg intends to exploit the potential of Batang Lupar by utilising its water to produce electricity through the concept of gravity.
He expressed the belief that the system would not only provide electricity but also enable soil irrigation for rice cultivation.
“We have many rivers, and I want to try Batang Lupar. Take the water through the pump and put it in the inhibitor tank.
“Then make a pipe from the tank to release the water and rotate the turbine to produce electricity because it is based on the concept of gravity.
“Whatever goes up must come down. You put water in, it will flow down, and the power source that flows is actually flowing water,” he was quoted as saying in the news report.
Abang Johari made the remarks when speaking at the Hopoh Semalaysia Festival 2024 event held last night (April 27) at a hotel here.
The Premier went on to say that he wants to put this project to the test in the hopes that Sarawak will become the primary rice producer, allowing it to support rice sharing with the Hopoh Association in Peninsular Malaysia.
“Then, there will be a lot of water flowing from the turbine where we store the water, and then it can become a soil irrigation system for paddy and rice production.
“This means that the new technology will have two functions, one to create electricity and the second to irrigate the soil.
“This (technology) is new; whether it works or not, I want to try because if it happens later, maybe we will be rice producers in Sarawak, and we can supply rice to the Hopoh Association in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.
Abang Johari also commented that Sarawak has the goal of becoming the most developed state in Malaysia by 2030.
“We are together with friends from other states; of course, we are also working hard to achieve these goals and targets.
“However, in Sarawak, we want all communities to work together.
“Whether we are Bumiputera, Chinese, Iban, Malay, or Orang Ulu, we are united in achieving the same goal, and we believe that with cooperation and unity among all levels of society, we can move forward together as a more developed and prosperous state by the year 2030,” he added.
Also present at the event were Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian; Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah; Sarawak Minister of Transport Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin; Sarawak Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew; Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap Yau Sin; Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng; Sarawak Hopoh Association president Datu Dr Chai Khin Chung; and other dignitaries. — DayakDaily
