KUCHING, Oct 26: The Sarawak government has been urged to immediately step in to resolve the cement supply shortage issue in Sarawak, which has badly affected the construction industry across the State and halted the progress of many government and private projects.
“I have received feedback from the ground that no stock of packet cement is available in the market for sale and also the undersupply of cement to all concrete mixing plants,” said Pending assembly woman Violet Yong in a press statement today.
“This is a serious issue and warrants urgent measures from the State government to fix it.
“It is disappointing to see that though the low supply of cement has been occurring for quite some time, the Sarawak State government and the management of CMSB (Cahaya Mata) has not come out with any official statement on the issue.”
She expressed regret that the problem of cement shortage keeps occurring and never gets improved or resolved.
“This is totally unacceptable and the State government should not close its eyes to the problem and let it occur so frequently.”
She held that cement market monopoly should be removed in Sarawak and a free market on the commodity should be allowed to ensure a constant supply and competitive prices.
“Due to a lack of healthy market competition, it gives rise to such a situation that we are facing in Sarawak – not only is there insufficient cement supply but the cement price is more expensive than other nearby regions.”
She said if the cement shortage continues, coupled with the rising prices of building materials, the construction industry will definitely suffer.
“The State government is duty bound not to allow such a scenario to happen but to address the issue responsibly and promptly,” said Yong. — DayakDaily
