KUCHING, May 20: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) youth is shocked that Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh has been so adamant against the construction of the Second Trunk Road which would serve to link rural towns namely, Roban, Saratok, Lingga, Sri Aman, Betong, as well as the Iban longhouses and Malay kampongs along Batang Lupar River basin all the way to Betong.
As such, PRS Youth publicity chief Andy Lawrence said it only goes to show that Wong is anti-rural development.
“Unfortunately, his (Wong) anti-rural development stance disguised under the banner of financial prudence has affected the mindset of our fellow Dayak within PSB,” Andy said here today.
He claimed that Wong’s anti-rural development stand was so “well-disguised” that he had managed to convince PSB’s rural-based Dayaks that products and produce from their rural hometowns could be sold without having any need for efficient road connectivity and transportation to customers in towns.
“Being a 29-year assemblyman representing rural kawasan Bawang Assan (N.53), Wong should have known first-hand the importance of rural connectivity,” said Andy.
According to Andy, PRS Youth found that after 29 years as elected assemblyman for Bawang Assan, the only road the constituency has is a 37 km road from Sg. Bidut, Tutus, Sebedil and Bungan.
Andy added that the Sg. Bidut – Bungan Road had not been proposed by Wong during his tenure as Minister of Infrastructure but by the present Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development Tan Sri Dr James Masing on January 24, 2019, and the project was now in progress.
“Comprising of 307 doors (from Kpg Tutus, Kpg Sebedil and Kpg Bungan Kecil) the communities of Bawang Assan who voted for him over the past 29 years until today still rely on boat to reach Sibu,” he said.
Andy said that Bawang Assan which is located just next to Sibu Town remains undeveloped under Wong which he attributed to an anti-rural connectivity stance.
“Wong could have proposed the infrastructure to connect these areas so that the communities would not be left out of mainstream development, but the question remains as ‘could have but didn’t.’ From how he treated his own constituency, it is obvious that Wong has anti-rural development DNA which translates into his anti-rural development stance and actions,” added Andy.—DayakDaily
