Abang Johari officiating at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Batang Lupar bridge project on March 23, 20121. – Photo by Roystein Emmor.
KUCHING (Mar 24): The RM848 million Batang Lupar bridge would have been 50 per cent completed by now if the project was not cancelled by the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) central publicity and information secretariat said.
It also took Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen and former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak chairman Baru Bian for not voicing their disagreement on the cancellation of the project when they were PH cabinet members.
“During the former PH government’s 22 months tenure, PH Sarawak had always assisted them to oppress Sarawak in which they agreed on development projects cancellation and never fought for Sarawak rights which included the promised manifesto on returning of 20 per cent oil loyalty and 50 per cent tax collected to Sarawak,” the secretariat said.
It pointed out that the PH government had approved the RM1.6 billion Kulim International Airport project in Kedah but cancelled Sarawak’s Batang Lupar bridge project because it claimed it was short of funds.
Aside from the airport project, it said the PH government had approved a RM300 million development fund for Sidam Logistics, Aerospace and Manufacturing Hub (SLAM) in Kedah, when PH’s Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir was Menteri Besar.
“…Sarawak was the opposition State during PH tenure, hence, the former PH government penalised Sarawak through the cancellation of various projects,” it said.
It said the Batang Lupar bridge project had now been reinstated by the state government and approved by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
“Batang Lupar bridge will be the longest river bridge in Malaysia and is scheduled to be completed by 2025. If the project was not abandoned by the former PH government, the construction progress will have reached 50 per cent by now.”
The Batang Lupar bridge project was launched by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg yesterday. The 4.8km long bridge will connect Kuching to Sebuyau and Maludam.
Abang Johari had pointed out that the cost of building all bridges along the coastal road up to Miri was now borne by the state government with the exception of the Sadong and Samarahan bridges which were funded by the former Barisan Nasional government.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing said at the same event that the state government was spending RM4 billion to build 11 major bridges.
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