THE Rural Development Ministry and its Sarawak counterparts – the Native Land and Regional Development, and Rural Electricity and Water Supply Ministries – have agreed to form a committee to tackle the issue of patchwork planning and uncoordinated implementation of rural projects in the state.

Rural Development Minister Rina Harun, state Native Land and Regional Development Minister Douglas Uggah Embas, and Rural Electricity and Water Supply Minister Dr Stephen Rundi jointly said there was a need to know what each ministry was planning, so as to avoid wastage.

Sources have told The Malaysian Insight that the lack of coordination between state and federal agencies in planning and implementing water projects is the reason behind the water issues affecting Sarawak’s coastal areas.

“At the end of the day, our objective is the same. It is to address the problems faced by rural folk – eradicating poverty, increasing their income level and reducing the rural-urban development gap,” Uggah, who is also Sarawak deputy chief minister, told a press conference after accompanying Rina during the latter’s courtesy call on Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg.

Rina said she reassured Abang Johari and the state government that she never claimed Sarawak’s rural folk had rejected infrastructure projects like bridges, as was reported by a Bahasa Malaysia newspaper last month.

The daily has since apologised, and corrected the erroneous report.

“I hope this visit will clear any misconceptions due to the misreporting,” said Rina, adding that only one out of 106 projects that she had instructed a freeze on while they were reviewed remained frozen.

She said the 105 projects, approved by the previous Barisan Nasional government and valued at RM916 million, could now be implemented.

She said the sole deferred project, a RM2 million road in Bintulu, would be implemented under the next budget.

Rina, who is in the state on her first working visit since being appointed to the cabinet, said her next visit, in December, would see her touring rural areas to better understand the problems there. – September 6, 2018.