JABU PROMISES MEGA ECONOMIC LEAP FOR BARAM

The state government will carry out poverty eradication projects outside SCORE by way of the five agropolitan projects spread evenly through out the state, said the deputy chief minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu ak Numpang.

He said the five agropolitan projects are at Pulau Bruit, Bukit Sadok, Tanjong Bijat, Batang Sadong and Kedaya Telang Usan.

“I want to see all these projects to take shape,” said Jabu who is also the Minister of Rural Development.

He said this after meeting a high level Orang Ulu delegation from Baram at the Miri Airport recently.

The delegation, led by Telang Usan assemblyman Lihan Jok comprised the heads of several Orang Ulu associations.

Touching on the Kedaya Telang Usan project, Jabu said a thorough study needed to be carried out.

“This is because the implementation of the project must be done systematically because it is a difficult project to be carried out. This entails the support of everybody,” said Jabu.

“I am prepared to sit down with the Federation of Orang Ulu Association Malaysia (FORUM) to discuss about the project. My approach is I want to take a very objective look at the project. We must not rush things or else we will miss out. We must be very focus in our approach. My target is eight years, for the next eight years we must work hard,” he added.

Earlier on, Jabu was talking about a mega economic leap for the huge Baram district through the Kedaya Telang Usan agropolitan project, exploiting its rich natural resources by focusing on eco-tourism.

Baram district has been exploited for its timber, with several timber companies making billions of ringgit profits by extracting timber from the area.

The next wave of economic development is oil palm plantations in the fertile region of Baram, home to several indigenous peoples like the Kayans, the Kenyahs, the Kelabits and the semi-nomadic Penans.

After a half-century of independence from colonial rule, the indigenous people of Baram are hungry for economic development like the rest of the people in the country.

Basic necessities like the supply of clean water and electricity and good roads are yet to be enjoyed by the majority of the poor indigenous people in the interior of Baram known as Kedaya Telang Usan