MURUM assemblyman Kennedy Chukpai Ugon has requested that the federal and Sarawak governments to build a border security road network and a Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security (CIQS) complex in Murum, about 838km from Kuching, to link Sarawak to Nusantara, Kalimantan.

He said the proposed road would start at Murum Dam in Belaga and stretch about 123km to the Long Nawang CIQS post in Indonesia.

“This security border road will also pass through Long Lidem, Long Unai and Tapak Megah (Malaysian border post). Recently, when we visited the Long Nawang CIQS, we saw that Indonesia is 75% ready in terms of facilities and roads, (but) Sarawak is still using logging roads.

“We are proposing that the government build a CIQS nearer to Indonesia because we cannot afford to build (the CIQS) too far away as we cannot control the movement and possible rat routes,” he told a press conference at the state assembly today.

Tapak Megah in Belaga district is the nearest border control post to Nusantara, which is about 23km from the Long Nawang CIQS.

Chukpai said the initiative will also boost eco-tourism in the surrounding plateaus such as Apau Nawai, Belaga and Usun Apau, Baram.

Earlier, in his speech in support of the motion of thanks for Yang Dipertua Negeri Sarawak Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud’s speech, he said the construction of border security roads will improve stability and balance development and security control between Malaysia and Indonesia.

“The construction of a road network in the heart of Borneo Island will certainly be a game changer that will boost Sarawak’s socio-economic development. It is in line with the aspirations of the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030,” he said. – Bernama, May 17, 2023.