By Shikin Louis
ASAJAYA, Jan 4: The Sarawak government, through the Integrated Regional Samarahan Development Agency (IRSDA), has allocated RM680 million to expand the ring bund or coastal embankment network to Sebangan Bajong.
IRSDA chairman Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the Asajaya peninsula is now home to the largest irrigation network in Sarawak, with numerous ring bunds built from Beliong through Tanjung Apong to Sadong Jaya, crossing Sadong Jaya itself.
“Recently, through an IRSDA allocation of RM680 million, a bund will be built from Sebuyau to Sebangan Bajong.
“Half of the allocation from IRSDA is for Sebuyau to build a ring bund,” he said during the closing ceremony of the Asajaya Ambal Festival 2026 held at Asajaya Square last night (Jan 3).
Abdul Karim, who is the Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts as well as Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, further said that before the bunds were built, high tides used to flood villages like Asajaya Ulu every month, making the land unsuitable for many crops.
“Today, thanks to the ring bunds, previously idle land is productive. Even durian trees, which used to grow only on hills, can now be planted near the coast.
“This is the result of the irrigation network built decades ago, following the vision of past leadership in the 1970s, to develop the land so it could generate real economic returns for the people of Asajaya,” he explained. — DayakDaily
