LINGGA (Sarawak), Nov 16 (Bernama) — Sungai Batang Lupar, one of the largest rivers in Sarawak famous for its population of Bujang Senang, the crocodile that once terrorised people and claimed lives, has been identified as the centre of coastal development in Sarawak.
The upstream of Sungai Batang Lupar starts from Batang Ai, the heartland of Sarawak’s first hydroelectric power generator before passing through hundreds of villages, longhouses, towns and cities until it ends downstream in Sebuyau, the third longest river in Sarawak stretching 131 kilometres.
Lingga is an area by Sungai Batang Lupar which is famous for its marine products, especially the Terubok fish, which is synonymous with Sarawak and sought-after by visitors who come to the state.
Due to its popularity, now the Sungai Lingga river banks are adorned with terubok fish figures as a landmark and identity of Lingga in the Batang Lupar parliamentary constituency.
Lingga District, which used to be quiet and somewhat backward compared to other towns in Sarawak, has been given a new lease of life since 2018 with several development projects benefiting the people.
Located 50 kilometres (km) from the town of Simanggang, the journey by road from the administrative centre for the Sri Aman Division to Lingga town takes about an hour. Before there was a road, Sungai Batang Lupar was the connecting link for Lingga, as well as the small settlements of Banting and Engkeranji.
Dayang Noorazah Awang Sohor, 34, of Lingga wants to see the district progress in line with Sarawak’s aspiration to become a high-income and developed state by 2030.
Since becoming Lingga assemblyman after winning the Sarawak state election at the end of last year, she is even more determined to realise her dream.
In her debut appearance at the Sarawak State Assembly sitting in Kuching last March, the accountancy degree holder has shown her determination to see the area she represents become more developed with various proposals for the development of educational facilities and other basic facilities.
Moves to develop Lingga have been on the rise since it was upgraded to become a full district last March with the first phase of the river waterfront completed, and it will be the centre for the Lingga Regatta to be held from Dec 2 to 4 this year.
Dayang Noorazah said upgrading Lingga to become a district is part of a long-term plan to develop the area.
She said when the RM848 million Batang Lupar Bridge project is completed by 2025, Lingga would be the main stopover for Sarawak coastal road users.
“After the bridge is built, the journey from Lingga and Sebuyau will take 30 to 40 minutes. That would be very exciting, because not only (would we be able to go to) Sebuyau (by road), but also to Meludam, Beladin, Pusa, Simunjan or directly to Kuching,” she said.
The Batang Lupar Bridge, which is about 7 km long, will be one of the longest bridges over the river in Malaysia as well as being one of the main infrastructures in the Sarawak Coastal Road spanning 896 km from Kuching in the south of the state to Miri in the north.
To further develop rural areas such as Lingga, the Sarawak government has implemented a strategy to establish the Sri Aman Development Agency or SADA with an initial fund allocation of RM1.5 billion to implement development projects.
The 15th General Election (GE15) will see Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), which leads the state government, field young candidate, Mohd Shafizan Kepli, 37, to defend the Batang Lupar parliamentary seat.
A graduate with a Bachelor of Arts from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Mohd Shafizan will face Hamdan Sani from Perikatan Nasional-PAS and Well@Maxwell Rojis from Pakatan Harapan-Amanah.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency