ICT, LRT focus of Abang Johari’s first term as Sarawak CM
Abang Johari Openg says initial basic LRT structure should have Kuching airport as the hub, heading to Kuching City, Kota Samarahan, Damai, Padawan and Serian.
In his winding up speech at the Sarawak state assembly today, Abang Johari said the programmes will be funded by the newly-created Development Bank of Sarawak (DBoS).
“By opening up, we mean making our local economy more accessible for everyone so that anyone who wants to make a good life for themselves will have a chance to do so here in Sarawak,” Abang Johari said.
The chief minister said a total of RM1 billion will be spent on construction of an additional 3,800 communication towers throughout Sarawak to improve internet connectivity and speed.
Currently, Sarawak has an average speed of up to 100 megabits per second (100 mbps) per household in urban areas as they can be connected to the Unifi broadband.
The average speed in the rural areas which has access to the internet is about 2-4 mbps.
“If I have my way, I want all those 5,000 towers up by tomorrow. This gets my people worried, but my point is that they should be worried and figure out how quickly those additional 3,800 towers can be put up on the ground all over Sarawak,” he said.
Abang Johari added that the Sarawak government will be tabling a new ordinance to govern the development and management of all aspects of the digital world in the next assembly sitting this year.
The proposed ordinance shall provide the legislative framework for establishing a new entity called Sarawak Multimedia Authority, which shall be a Sarawak government outfit and which is expected to be set up by January 2018, he said.
Public transport system
On public transport, the chief minister said it will be an integrated one, with the Light Rail Transit (LRT) as the core, complemented by the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), taxis and private cars providing ride-sharing services such as Uber and Grab.
There will also be paths for cyclists and pedestrians included into the design of the full public transport system, he said.
In the long term, Abang Johari said greater Kuching may encompass not just Kota Samarahan and Padawan, but also Bako, Damai, Lundu, Bau, and Serian. The centre of that public transport system is the Kuching International Airport with connections to various parts of Kuching City itself.
On the medium term, by its current pace of natural growth, the level of car ownership in greater Kuching could rise by 25% from 320,000 to 400,000 cars, he said.
“We are at the threshold of getting into the LRT system,” Abang Johari said.
“I am suggesting that the initial basic LRT structure should be the Kuching International Airport that goes to Kuching City, Kota Samarahan, Damai, Padawan and Serian. We can build the required real estate around these LRT stations based on the concept of TOD (Transit-Oriented Density) development.
“If we do not start building our LRT now, our land cost will increase in future and we may need more roads, more highways as well as more flyovers to be built which will cost us billions of ringgit,” he said.
Abang Johari said he has taken the advice of his planners who have been working on this since early this year and also looked at a study that has been done by experts from Hong Kong and Singapore.
“I want to repeat here to everyone in the state assembly that as long as I am the chief minister, I will ensure that all my initiatives as I have explained earlier will be implemented.
“Our LRT will also be funded by our own financial model and not through any direct funding from the federal government,” he said.
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