MIRI: The Sarawak Government has agreed in principle to a proposal to establish a Miri Greater Agency to accelerate development in the outskirts and rural areas of Miri that are not currently covered by existing development agencies.

Sarawak Premier, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg, said the proposal would, among others, cover areas such as Lambir, Marudi and parts of the interior that are not under any other development agency.

He said the approach was in line with the Sarawak Government’s efforts to establish dedicated development agencies to coordinate and drive development in a more structured manner according to the needs of specific areas.

“For example, in Kuching, Serian and its outskirts, we have an agency, the Kuching Greater Agency. So perhaps we can develop a Miri Greater Agency for this area,” he said.

He said this when addressing the Special Convention of the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Sarawak Northern Zone in Miri on Sunday.

The Sarawak Premier added that the establishment of the agency was important to ensure areas outside Miri city centre were not left behind in the development process, while enabling projects and infrastructure needs to be coordinated more systematically.

He said efforts to extend development to outlying areas were part of the Sarawak Government’s agenda to ensure that economic growth and the state’s progress were enjoyed more widely by the people.

Also present were PBB Sarawak Deputy President and Chairman of the PBB Sarawak Special Convention State Main Committee, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas; PBB Sarawak Deputy President, Deputy Chairman of the PBB Sarawak Special Convention State Main Committee and Chairman of the PBB Sarawak Special Convention Northern Zone, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan; PBB Sarawak Senior Vice-President and Deputy Chairman of the PBB Sarawak Special Convention Northern Zone, Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom; PBB Sarawak Permanent Chairman, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar; PBB Sarawak Secretary-General, Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi; PBB Sarawak Wanita Chief, Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah; and PBB Sarawak Youth Chief, Datuk Martin Ben.

Also in attendance were PBB Sarawak vice-presidents and members of the Supreme Council, members of the Supreme Councils of the PBB Sarawak Wanita, Youth and Belia wings, party veterans, the heads of the 18 PBB branches in the Northern Zone and convention participants. -UKASnews