By Karen Bong
KOTA SAMARAHAN, May 4: All Jiwa Murni roads throughout Sarawak will be upgraded or rebuilt to Public Works Department (JKR) standards so that they can be listed to receive Malaysian Road Records Information (Marris) grants for maintenance purposes.
Federal Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang explained that as Jiwa Murni roads were a one-off project initiated under military service, there is currently no special allocation to maintain or repair the roads.
“Most of the roads are now in dire condition due to lack of maintenance. This is because the roads are not included among projects that can be listed under Marris due to it not using JKR specifications.
“Therefore we are upgrading the roads in stages to JKR specifications to enable them to be registered under Marris so that they can receive funding in the future for maintenance purposes,” she told reporters at her Hari Raya open house held at Kota Samarahan Civic Centre here today.
Rubiah, who is also Kota Samarahan MP, emphasised that the Sarawak government has proposed for all Jiwa Murni roads to be upgraded, especially the logging roads, to improve accessibility to rural areas in Sarawak.
Based on the cost estimated by the Sarawak government, she said about RM85 million is required to implement the upgrading works for the roads throughout Sarawak.
Jiwa Murni projects were initiated under the military service due to lack of funding in the past to ensure connectivity in villages in rural Sarawak. Most of the roads are located in areas of Baram Ulu Kapit, Hulu Rajang, Betong as well as various areas that are hard to reach.
Under the 12th Malaysia Plan which comprised five Rolling Plans, Rubiah said that Sarawak has been allocated RM1.5 billion.
“Currently, we are in the Third Rolling Plan with RM917 million allocated for 214 projects involving rural development such as water and electricity supply as well as other infrastructures including roads in Sarawak.
“The Ministry will provide allocation and implement projects based on the priority of the Sarawak government. So far, the focus is on addressing water supply with building new water treatment plants as many areas are still lacking in treated water supply,” she said.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg was among the distinguished guests who attended her Hari Raya open house. — DayakDaily
