By Peter Sibon
KUCHING, Feb 11: The proposed RM67 million Long Lama bridge across Baram River is scheduled to be completed by April this year, said Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau.
Work on this 573m-long initiative of the state government started in Feb 2016, and it stands to benefit some 37,000 residents of Long Lama, who would be able to drive to Miri city some 140km away and to other areas without the hassle of waiting for the ferry.
Dennis told DayakDaily today that this bridge project is among the many projects worth millions of ringgit that have been implemented in his constituency for the people by the state government over the years.
“I am happy that since 2011, with our closeness with the state government, millions of ringgit worth of projects for infrastructure and basic amenities have been implemented all over Telang Usan. Beside the bridge, there’s the solar electricity to power longhouses, telecommunication towers, village roads, public halls, churches and others.
“All these development projects could only take place because Telang Usan is represented by me, who is in the state government. Nothing will come along our way if the constituency is represented by an opposition member in the State Legislative assembly. That is a fact.”
On land issues, he said it had been ongoing in his constituency, just like in other areas in the state.
“But they are being handled according to the law of the land.
“As a wakil rakyat, my take is always to advise our people to seek the right advice, which is from the state government, should there be land disputes. There is no other authority when it comes to land matters in the state other than the state government of Sarawak. Many times, our people get unnecessarily angry as a result of getting the wrong information or half-truths.”
Dennis assured that besides land matters, he is also concerned about issues relating to education, infrastructure development and socio-economic development.
“I also often advise the village folks that their large tracts of land should not be left idle but be developed to the full.
“Therefore, I always encourage our people to maximise their land i.e. cultivate it with commercial crops to generate income or work and support all state government initiatives for land development for their benefit.”
On politics, Dennis, who is also a Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) supreme council member, revealed that the majority of the people in his area were staunch supporters of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), but he acknowledged there existed a small group of people who were moving on the ground to undermine his work. — DayakDaily
