By Ling Hui
MIRI, Nov 25: All Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) secretaries and committee members in Sarawak who attend monthly meetings will begin receiving their respective allowances starting January 2022.
Minister of Rural Development Malaysia Dato Sri Mahdzir Khalid, in announcing this, said the federal government has already approved the payment of allowances following a Cabinet meeting on Nov 19.
He added that the total allocation provided for this purpose amounts to RM44,820,000 per annum, involving 5,976 secretaries and 65,736 committee members.
“The provision of allocations for these allowances by the federal government is seen to further strengthen the machinery at grassroots level.
“It serves also to improve collaboration between the Sarawak and federal governments especially in the implementation of rural development programmes involving JKKKs,” he said during the launching ceremony for the Marudi Rural Water Supply (BALB) project at Rh Ridah, Sg Pasir Marudi here today.
Construction on the RM38.5 million BALB project that was fully funded by the federal government began in March 2019 and was completed on Sept 19, 2021.
The project included the construction of the Poyut-Nibong booster pump house, Telang Usan suction tank with water storage capacity of 1.17 million litres per day (MLD), the Anja elevated reservoir with capacity of 2.76MLD, and installation of 71km of new pipelines.
The project aims to provide clean and treated water supply to villages along the road from SMK Telang Usan to Kampung Lubok Nibong in Marudi and is estimated to benefit a total of 34 villages encompassing 1,586 households and 7,930 residents.
Through the implementation of this project, water pressure will be increased and clean water supply can be channeled consistently to various areas around Marudi, especially during peak hours.
On a related matter, Khalid said there are altogether 14 water supply projects in Sarawak under the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12) funded by the federal government with an estimated cost of RM1.7 billion.
In terms of electricity supply, he said there are three approved projects for the Marudi and Telang Usan areas whereby the implementation involves a hybrid solar system which costs about RM282.51 million.
“This (hybrid solar) project will be implemented in nine villages with an estimated number of 1,129 households and 5,600 residents.
“This project will not only benefit homeowners, but it will also provide a source of electricity to public facilities such as clinics, community halls, kindergartens and houses of worship,” he added. — DayakDaily
