RM108 million Bebuling Airport project delayed by 19 per cent

BETONG, Sun -- Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah today asked the state Public Works Department (JKR)  to closely monitor the ongoing construction of three big projects in Spaoh district near here.

Picture: DCM Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah being briefed on the construction of Sungai Paku bridge by a site engineer.

According to him, the three projects are the Bebuling Airport, Sungai Paku bridge and  Debak-Tuie Road.

He was informed that airport project is delayed by 18.99 per cent in its construction schedule.

The RM108million project was scheduled to be completed on September 17 this year.

The delay is said to be mainly caused by problems in constructing access road to transport  the machinery and building materials as well as poor weather conditions.

However, the contractor has now resolved the issue and is catching up on the delay with sufficient machinery and manpower at the site.

On the Sungai Paku bridge at Tanjung Sebekut,  it is delayed  6.71 per cent, mainly attributed to the slow performance by the contractor, delayed arrival of construction materials from Malaya and slow delivery of machinery and construction materials to the site

The 100-meter long steel arch bridge costing RM26.75million is now scheduled to be completed by December 21, instead of the original date on  November 5, 2023.

Its construction had commenced on 6th May, 2021

Uggah said all contractors must take note of the steps taken by JKR to catch up on the delays.

"They too must comply with all terms and conditions of their contracts,” he said.

Get yourselves vaccinated with booster dose, Uggah advises 250,000 Sarawakians

BETONG, February 27, 2022 - Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah today urged some 249,000 people, who are yet to get the Covid-19 booster jabs, do so as it is very important  to protect themselves against Covid-19.

Picture: DCM Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah exchanging greetings with PBB members before officiating at the Kpg Tengah Spaoh subbranch

He said they should make full use of the opportunities accorded to them by the government to get the booster dose.

"The booster dose is to strengthen your double vaccination doses,"he said when officiating at the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera (PBB) triennial delegates conference of the Kampung Tengah Spaoh sub-branch at the community hall here.

Uggah who is also the chairman of the  State Disaster Management Committee( SDMC) said as of yesterday, the state health department said some 86.3 per cent of the state population have been vaccinated with the booster dose.

 He again called on all to continue to observe all standard operating procedures.

He said the current Omicron variant was very transmissible.

 Sarawak had recorded 476 cases today and 483 yesterday.

Meanwhile Uggah also thanked voters here for their full support to him in the recent 12th state election.

He said although two other candidates had challenged him, they had decided to support him as the GPS candidate from PBB.

He said they knew that the GPS had very good leader in the person of the Chief Minister  Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg who had proven himself to be a people centric, caring  and visionary leader for all Sarawakians.

"They have wanted him to continue leading the state,"he said.

Earlier, Uggah who is Bukit Saban state assemblyman visited the RM6.2 million Spaoh waterfront park and the RM5 million Spaoh market which is under construction.

Elderly couple expressed shock when bank told them they still owe over RM80,000

 KUCHING, February 21, 2022 - An elderly couple, who thought that they have settled their housing loan with a bank, was shocked to learn they still owed the bank of over RM80,000.

Picture: Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen (right) talking to the couple outside the bank.

They took their case to Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen after the bank insisted that they must settle the outstanding amount.

According to Chong, the couple, identified as Mr and Mrs Jee, both retirees, had been paying their loan for 20 years and were shocked to learn that they have only settled one-third of the loan.

“This is the distressing and shocking encounter of Mr and Mrs Jee when they found out that, after they have regularly made monthly repayment towards their housing loan for more than 20 years, there is still an outstanding of more than RM80,000 owed by them to the bank,” he said after meeting the couple.

He said that the couple told him that in the year 2000, they borrowed a housing loan of RM125,000 from to part-finance the purchase of their house.  

“Under the loan agreement, the repayment term is 240 months, that is 20 years.

“From year 2000 till 2021, over a span of 21 years, the couple have dutifully repaid the bank the monthly instalments.  

“Though there were a few rare occasions of delayed payments over the years, they have made up for the delayed payments.

“However, in 2021, the retired couple approached the bank, with the intention to fully settle the outstanding loan to discharge their house from the bank.  

“They thought, given that they have been regularly paying their monthly instalments to the bank for more than 20 years and that there is no letter of demand from the bank for any default on the repayment, the loan would have been substantially repaid.  

“They expected that the outstanding loan amount would, at most, be a few thousand ringgit.  

“They would use their retirement savings to clear the loan.

“However, that was not the case.  They were informed that as at December 31, 2020, there was still an outstanding amount of RM80,362.17 owed by them to the bank under the loan.  

“They were shocked and totally devastated.  Mr and Mrs Jee are now 68 years old and 63 years old respectively.  

“Having retired, they would have no income to continue paying their loans.

“As such, they approached me for help,” Chong said.

He said he brought them to discuss the matter with the bank and he also helped to draft a letter addressed to the bank seeking explanation on why, for a loan the repayment tenure of which was 20 years, there is still an outstanding of about tw-thirds of the loan amount.

He said in the course of the discussion with the bank’s manager, it was disclosed that there had been some variation of interest by the Bank as a result of which, the main bulk of their repayment were mainly for the interest charged.  

“Even if such were the case, there could not have been such a great disparity in the outstanding amount,” he said.

Chong said he had also sought the intervention of Bank Negara Malaysia to ensure that justice be done.to the couple.

“This is a battle between the ordinary helpless people against a giant corporation, in a battlefield where rules are set by the government in favour of the giant corporation,” he said.

“On a general note, all borrowers should regularly check their loan accounts to ensure that the interest rates charged by the banks are in accordance with the loan agreement and not unilaterally increased by banks,” he said.

Sarawak CM praises Sarawak Energy for transforming itself into a global energy industry player

KUCHING, February 21, 2022 - Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg today heaped praises on Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) for transforming itself into an international energy industry player, in the process carrying Sarawak’s flag at internationally and regionally energy industry platforms.

Picture: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg (centre) with Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian (third from left), SEB group CEO Datuk Sarbini Suhaili (third from right) with other invited VVIPs at the centenary townhall.

He said for SEB to survive and thrive for 100 years is an exceptional feat, one which SEB has managed to accomplish.

“The longevity and achievements of your organisation are something all of us are very proud of,” he said at SEB Centenary Townhall here.

 “As Sarawak's primary power utility, your efforts and contributions have been key in supporting the government's efforts to drive socioeconomic development in Sarawak towards our ambition of becoming a high-income state by 2030,” he said.

Picture: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg launching the centenary townhall.

“Our goal is to ensure all Sarawakians have equal opportunities to participate in the state’s overall development and enjoy equitable distribution of wealth through jobs and business opportunities.

“Rural areas of Sarawak must be equipped with all the basic infrastructure and facilities to enable communities to participate in wealth creation activities, improving the standard of living in these areas,” he added.

“In comparison to 2009 when the rural electrification rate was only at 56%, today about 97% of our rural communities have access to 24/7 reliable, renewable and clean electricity via a suite of grid and off grid solutions including solar and micro hydro power systems,” he said.

SEB group chief executive officer Datuk Sarbini Suhaili said SEB has achieved remarkable milestones over the last 100 years.

“We can say with a strong measure of pride that we are now ahead of the sustainable energy development curve, transitioning from a generation mix that was 100% fossil fuel when we began in the 1920s to over 90% fossil fuel in 2010 to predominantly renewable hydropower today.

“We are now Malaysia’s largest renewable energy developer, we have almost met our target of achieving full electrification of Sarawak by 2025.

“From a customer base of just 84 in southern Sarawak in the 1920s, we now provide electricity to over 740,000 accounts, serving a population of almost 3 million people in Sarawak, with customers in Indonesia.

“We started with around 30 staff and today, we are among the largest employers of professional Sarawak talent with 5,400 purposeful and dedicated employees.

“In fact, our subject matter experts are sought after to share their knowledge and technical expertise beyond our borders,” Sarbini said.

He said these accomplishments were made possible by the support and strategic direction of the Sarawak government, with much of today’s major corporate achievements a direct result of SCOREwhich was launched in 2008,” he said.

He said the period 2010 to 2020 was an important decade for Sarawak Energy as a direct result of its investment in hydropower development and focus on SCORE.

He said it has allowed SEB to support Sarawak’s economic growth and significantly transform Sarawak’s energy sector.

He said many important milestones were achieved during this period including the commissioning of the 944MW Murum Hydroelectric Plant as well as the delivery of Sarawak’s first interconnection to West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

He said during the past decade, SEB increased its installed generation capacity by 3.8 times to 5,233MW, with large hydropower contributing 3,452MW to the total capacity and increased its annual revenue by 3.6 times and reached the RM5 billion mark.

Bomba men stop Dayak woman from attempting to commit suicide

 BINTULU, February 20, 2022 - A 29-year old mentally distressed Dayak woman was successfully persuaded by rescuers from the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) and police not to jump off  a building here at lunch time today.

Picture: A 29-year mentally distressed Dayak woman attempted to end her life, rescued by Bomba men.

Bintulu Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) spokesman said the woman, wearing an orange colour long-sleeved t-shirt and black  trousers, was seen standing outside the window of the building, believed to be trying to commit suicide.

He said the Bintulu station received a call at 12.42pm about a woman standing on the edge of the window of a building at Medan Sentral here.

“We managed to coax and persuade her not to jump from the third floor of the building,” the spokesman said in a press statement.

She was later handed over to the police for further action.

The ambulance later took her to the Bintulu hospital.

The Bomba statement, however, did not provide any clue why the woman had wanted to commit suicide.

Picture: The woman is seen standing outside the window of the third floor building.