Mukah Division is poised to become an integrated economic zone, with a large port and timber processing complex in the southern end, an administrative centre at the top end and large tracts of land for commercial plantations in the middle. The formative period, however, will take at least five years before transformation of the new division comes into full swing, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud tells TOMAN MAMORA in an exclusive interview.
The geographical area under Mukah Division has been described as a cohesive zone for economic development, offering wide-ranging resource potential and large enough population to be integrated as a single economic unit.
“The whole area is going to witness vigorous land development and because of the homogeneity and character of land development, we can afford to strengthen our machinery to ensure that the critical mass can be achieved by getting economic development nto be undertaken within a zonal concept,” said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud in an exclusive interview with Tribune.
Although opportunities abound for Mukah Division to be developed into a fast growing economic zone, it will it take at least five years for the local people to adjust to the process of change and come to grips with the new forces of development, said Taib.
After they have moved out of their traditional moulds to participate in the mainstream of development, the tempo of transformation would inevitably accelerate as there would be greater mobility of people, goods and services across the Mukah Division, he added.
“In the initial stage, we will busy ourselves with the building up of government machinery and it will take us at least two years to set up the relevant government departments such as the Agriculture department, Drainage and Irrigation, Land and Survey which are the essential ones,” he said, adding that a 12-storey central administration office for Mukah was currently under construction and would be completed in two years’ time.
On challenges ahead, Taib described the greatest being to develop a new mindset and to arouse interest in small and medium-size industries and commercial activities among the local. He also recognised the pressing need within the formative years of the Division to organise a resourceful programme which would attract investors to come to Mukah to set up profitable ventures with the local people in such commercial activities as plantation development, deep-sea fishing and food-processing.
Said Taib: “I do believe with the increase in tempo of investment and number of educated people, the development of Mukah as a Division will witness vast socioeconomic changes in the next five years.” He dismissed fears about established entrepreneurs from outside coming to Mukah to dominate some sectors of the local economy as unfounded and characteristic of the old mentality. The development of Mukah must be viewed from a broader perspective and within the context of an expanding economic territory, stressed Taib, adding that it should embrace the need for interaction with established economic centres such as Sibu and Sarikei and other areas in the central region. In what he des-cribed as a win-win situation, the expansion of Sibu as a financial centre for the central region would ultimately be dependent on the economic growth of Mukah Division and the other hinterland in the Rajang basin.
FOLLOWING ARE EXCERPTS OF THE INTERVIEW:
Q: Would you be able to enlighten us on the rationale for grouping Balingian, Dalat, Matu-Daro, Serdeng and Bela-wai under a single Administrative Division?
A: The concept of developing Mukah as a Division came about because we want to have Sarawak’s administration to be run on a more efficient basis, based on an area which is not too big to enable a Resident to operate. By now, with the creation of Mukah and Betong, most Divisions will have a population of 100,000 to 150,000.
The geographical area under the Mukah Division forms a cohesive zone for economic development, offering sufficient economic potential and large enough population to be integrated as a single economic unit. As we can see we have reached a certain stage of infrastructure development that will enable it to function as an Administrative Division under a Resident and machinery for development that is more focused and which has a fuller complement of staff. With this, we are able to develop the concept of an economic unit, which will organise the development of the potential resources in the area. In the old days, the area was segmented by large rivers, making, for example, Mukah, Balingian and Mukah to be completely isolated areas. Today, because of infrastructure development and with the supply of electricity and water, we are able to encourage the opening up of land. Large tracts of land, nearing 100,000 acres, which have been approved for the development of large-scale commercial plantations, are being opened up, and this and many others show to investors the potential of the area for plantations, deep-sea fishing and aquaculture.
Mukah, Matu and Belawai have beautiful beaches that will attract weekend tourists. Mukah, in particular, is very convenient for holiday-makers from Sibu as it is easily accessible by road. Meanwhile, Sarikei and Bintangor will look toward the Rajang area for expansion of business opportunities
Q: What do you see as some of the major challenges that have to be overcome in the early stage of development of Mukah Division?
A: In the initial stage, we will busy ourselves with the building up of government machinery and it will take us at least two years to build all the relevant government departments such as the Agriculture department, Drainage and Irrigation, Land and Survey which are the essential ones. The others may take a longer time to set up. Under construction now is a 12-storey central administration office for Mukah which will be completed in two years’ time.
The attraction of Mukah is well-known among businessmen. Even now, we have businessmen coming from as far as Malacca to open up shops and set up service centres. There are already three banks and six service centres providing maintenance and repair work to vehicles and machinery - all these are the normal symbols of the rising standard of living of the people in any given area.
The greater challenge is to organise a way to encourage investors to come to Mukah, in terms of getting land, developing the town itself and planning for other infrastructure and amenities. More roads have to be built to cope with the large amounts of agricultural products which need to be transported out of the plantations. We are also embarking deep-sea fishing, and planning to develop Tanjung Manis into an integrated fishery village.
The greatest challenge is to develop a new mindset, which is always a problem with any development, and to arouse interest in small and medium-size industries and commercial activities. Because of this, we would like to inject into the Division greater activities that will attract educated people with better understanding of the opportunities for development to come to the area and intermingle with the local people. In this context, we are planning to set up a polytechnic in Mukah Division.
This and the support for improvement of education in the area will add more vigorous life to the development of the Division. The hardest challenge, of course, is to transform the Tanjung Sirik area and its surrounding which used to be completely isolated. The worst incidence of poverty in Sarawak is found in that area. In the case of these people, we need to have an intensified effort to redress malnutrition problem affecting the young people and to disseminate enough information to enable the local folk have a proper understanding of the process of development.
I do believe with the increase in tempo of investment and number of educated people, the development of Mukah as a Division will witness vast socioeconomic changes in the next five years. By the year 2020, the Division will be able to achieve the goals of Vision 2020 with the rest of Sarawak and the country. We can see Mukah developing into an integrated economic zone with a large port at the southern end, an administrative centre at the top end and large tracts of land being transformed into commercial plantations in the middle.
Q: Population, especially its scarcity and dispersion, obviously has a bearing on the creation of any critical mass which is detrimental to the development of growth centres and new townships. How will this be addressed in the projected urban development programme for the Division?
A: The critical mass is developed by harnessing the potential and energy of an area by planning good infrastructure…that’s what we have done with Mukah Division. The whole area is going to witness vigorous land development, and because of the homogeneity and character of land development, we can afford to strengthen our machinery to make sure that the critical mass can be achieved by getting economic development to be undertaken within a zonal concept.
The dispersal of the population cannot be rectified immediately but the workers will be mobile with better infrastructure. Of course, there is a changing pattern of employment; they will have to learn to undertake jobs in different ways. First, there are new kinds of job, and second, agricultural jobs need more modern skills and technology.
What I see from now on is a gradual redeployment of workers and eventually population, which will make concentration of population a natural process of development. In other words, the smaller settlements will disappear and the Iban areas, which are the most scattered, will assume greater concentration in order to be able to have access to modern amenities and utilities. The movement of people is a process of development which will lead to the creation of a critical mass. I cannot force the people to participate in the development but I can induce them.
As a follow-up action to efficiently integrate the economic activities we need to see whether or not we can develop less number of local councils but with better officers and technical capability. This is a matter for reform of the administration at the local government level which the State Government has to study properly before implementing it.
Ideally, each Division should have a divisional council and two local councils, with the exception of bigger population centres like Sibu and Kuching. Such an approach should be viewed as a consequence to the changing pattern of population and jobs, and the raising of standard of living of the people.
Q: On the urbanising process in Mukah Division, what will be the principal thrusts to ensure meaningful development and linkages?
A : Urbanising process, as opposed to urbanisation, involves getting some of the rural areas to enjoy greater concentration of population and better amenities through a process of upgrading the quality of life in the rural areas. The Government cannot afford to change a place which has less than, say, 5000 people to have a very high standard of amenities similar to those found in urban areas. But in our process of development, more people will see some sense in moving into areas which are already on the way up economically. Areas like Kanowit, Betong, Mukah and Lawas are undergoing such a transformation..
Q: How will the problem of isolation, which is a major cause for poverty in the Tanjung Sirik area, be tackled?
A: First, we have to see what the studies ( the Government has commissioned a consultant to undertake a study on isolation vis-a-vis poverty) will reveal and our strategies will probably be based on what we find on the ground. Meanwhile, we already know where the rough alignment of roads at primary and secondary level will be undertaken. Tanjung Sirik’s development will depend on how fast you can provide infrastructure. The southern part of Tanjung Sirik is already experiencing some development activities with the opening up of land, especially a Rural Growth Centre in Kampung Semop.
Within the first five years, we can see the people appreciating the need for change and aware of landing bigger opportunities if they are to move out of their traditional settlement. After five years, the change will be faster; the coming of cars and motor-cycles, of investors, and increasing number of children passing secondary schools and entering universities.
Isolation must not be viewed only in geographical terms. Rather, we ought to look at isolation as a result of a community being cut off from the main train of economic events in their own division. As our population is limited, we cannot expect the people to stay in one place regardless of the attractions of the development that is taking place. The development of places like Serian, Lawas and Subis have shown that people have responded to development within a space of five years. But after five years, the old notion of isolation will disappear as they will begin to move to areas of greater concentration of population in search of new opportunities and better standard of living.
Q: Datuk, you might have briefly touched on this in your response to my earlier questions. Still, what would you see as the most important challenge for the local people in adjusting to the new paradigm shift that will inevitably alter the socioeconomic landscape of Mukah Division? How will it be addressed?
A: The greatest challenge for the local people is to realise that they have to change their system of working from the old and traditional to the modern and more productive. Such a change will include embracing the new and more profitable methods of working; exploiting new opportunities as a result of land development, deep-sea fishing, greater infusion of investment and capital, and setting up of new factories. The response to grab the economic opportunities is the greatest challenge for the people.
As you know, the Government can only set the train of events by developing infrastructure and other facilities, but ultimately it is the people’s response that will determine how fast the transformation can take place. There may be slowness on their part in the first five years, but the pace will accelerate once their mentality changes.
Q: With abundant resources and opportunities, Mukah Division will obviously attract people from outside in search of new business ventures and profitable activities. This will give rise to fears of established entrepreneurs from other towns coming to dominate some sectors of the local economy. Can we have your comments on this, Datuk?
A: That was the old mentality – the fear of outsiders coming to rob the local of business opportunities. The misconception of the old notion was that when you kept people out you would automatically have control over whatever resource there was in the area. But how long do you have to wait before developing whatever that’s reserved in your area. I believe people now are beginning to realise that there is no development happening even within your life time unless you are prepared to accept interaction with people from outside. After all, capital and expertise come from outside if you are in the rural areas. Initially, most of the aids and development resources needed for development of a rural area will have to come from outside.
As we can see, development can take place much faster as a result of interaction with people from outside. Local people are not going to lose; they are going to benefit from the process of change. That’s one lesson that most people have learned to accept in Sarawak. Because of that, there is not much fear, but what is happening is that everybody wants to get maximum benefit.
The ‘level playing field’ is an old static concept. And development is a dynamic concept: you can change a static situation into a dynamic situation when you challenge people to accept change by introducing roads, electricity and other development components. In Sarawak, massive public funds are deployed to change the environment in favour of development. As more people become richer, private capital will begin to play an increasingly important role in all sectors. The multiplier effects of the workings of the new economy will gradually upgrade the quality of life of the people and create a win-win situation that wasn’t there in the early days.
Sibu needs the development of Mukah to be able to grow from where it is today. Sibu can only continue to develop if the size of the economic cake in the central region were to grow. Mukah will not lose as a result of Sibu’s desire to get a good share of the growing cake, because Mukah itself will be part of the cake. The shared prosperity will extend beyond the boundary of the area that’s being developed as more people come in and get involved in the process of economic development.
Q: Population, especially its scarcity and dispersion, obviously has a bearing on the creation of any critical mass which is detrimental to the development of growth centres and new townships. How will this be addressed in the projected urban development programme for the Division?
A: The critical mass is developed by harnessing the potential and energy of an area by planning good infrastructure…that’s what we have done with Mukah Division. The whole area is going to witness vigorous land development, and because of the homogeneity and character of land development, we can afford to strengthen our machinery to make sure that the critical mass can be achieved by getting economic development to be undertaken within a zonal concept.
The dispersal of the population cannot be rectified immediately but the workers will be mobile with better infrastructure. Of course, there is a changing pattern of employment; they will have to learn to undertake jobs in different ways. First, there are new kinds of job, and second, agricultural jobs need more modern skills and technology.
What I see from now on is a gradual redeployment of workers and eventually population, which will make concentration of population a natural process of development. In other words, the smaller settlements will disappear and the Iban areas, which are the most scattered, will assume greater concentration in order to be able to have access to modern amenities and utilities. The movement of people is a process of development which will lead to the creation of a critical mass. I cannot force the people to participate in the development but I can induce them.
As a follow-up action to efficiently integrate the economic activities we need to see whether or not we can develop less number of local councils but with better officers and technical capability. This is a matter for reform of the administration at the local government level which the State Government has to study properly before implementing it.
Ideally, each Division should have a divisional council and two local councils, with the exception of bigger population centres like Sibu and Kuching. Such an approach should be viewed as a consequence to the changing pattern of population and jobs, and the raising of standard of living of the people.
Q: On the urbanising process in Mukah Division, what will be the principal thrusts to ensure meaningful development and linkages?
A: Urbanising process, as opposed to urbanisation, involves getting some of the rural areas to enjoy greater concentration of population and better amenities through a process of upgrading the quality of life in the rural areas. The Govern-ment cannot afford to change a place which has less than, say, 5000 people to have a very high standard of amenities similar to those found in urban areas. But in our process of development, more people will see some sense in moving into areas which are already on the way up economically. Areas like Kanowit, Betong, Mukah and Lawas are undergoing such a transformation..
Q: How will the problem of isolation, which is a major cause for poverty in the Tanjung Sirik area, be tackled?
A: First, we have to see what the studies ( the Government has commissioned a consultant to undertake a study on isolation vis-a-vis poverty) will reveal and our strategies will probably be based on what we find on the ground. Meanwhile, we already know where the rough alignment of roads at primary and secondary level will be undertaken. Tanjung Sirik’s development will depend on how fast you can provide infrastructure. The southern part of Tanjung Sirik is already experiencing some development activities with the opening up of land, especially a Rural Growth Centre in Kampung Semop.
Within the first five years, we can see the people appreciating the need for change and aware of landing bigger opportunities if they are to move out of their traditional settlement. After five years, the change will be faster; the coming of cars and motor-cycles, of investors, and increasing number of children passing secondary schools and entering universities.
Isolation must not be viewed only in geographical terms. Rather, we ought to look at isolation as a result of a community being cut off from the main train of economic events in their own division. As our population is limited, we cannot expect the people to stay in one place regardless of the attractions of the development that is taking place. The development of places like Serian, Lawas and Subis have shown that people have responded to development within a space of five years. But after five years, the old notion of isolation will disappear as they will begin to move to areas of greater concentration of population in search of new opportunities and better standard of living.
Q: Datuk, you might have briefly touched on this in your response to my earlier questions. Still, what would you see as the most important challenge for the local people in adjusting to the new paradigm shift that will inevitably alter the socioeconomic landscape of Mukah Division? How will it be addressed?
A: The greatest challenge for the local people is to realise that they have to change their system of working from the old and traditional to the modern and more productive. Such a change will include embracing the new and more profitable methods of working; exploiting new opportunities as a result of land development, deep-sea fishing, greater infusion of investment and capital, and setting up of new factories. The response to grab the economic opportunities is the greatest challenge for the people.
As you know, the Government can only set the train of events by developing infrastructure and other facilities, but ultimately it is the people’s response that will determine how fast the transformation can take place. There may be slowness on their part in the first five years, but the pace will accelerate once their mentality changes.
Q: With abundant resources and opportunities, Mukah Divi-sion will obviously attract people from outside in search of new business ventures and profitable activities. This will give rise to fears of established entrepreneurs from other towns coming to dominate some sectors of the local economy. Can we have your comments on this, Datuk?
A: That was the old mentality – the fear of outsiders coming to rob the local of business opportunities. The misconception of the old notion was that when you kept people out you would automatically have control over whatever resource there was in the area. But how long do you have to wait before developing whatever that’s reserved in your area. I believe people now are beginning to realise that there is no development happening even within your life time unless you are prepared to accept interaction with people from outside. After all, capital and expertise come from outside if you are in the rural areas. Initially, most of the aids and development resources needed for development of a rural area will have to come from outside.
As we can see, development can take place much faster as a result of interaction with people from outside. Local people are not going to lose; they are going to benefit from the process of change. That’s one lesson that most people have learned to accept in Sarawak. Because of that, there is not much fear, but what is happening is that everybody wants to get maximum benefit.
The ‘level playing field’ is an old static concept. And development is a dynamic concept: you can change a static situation into a dynamic situation when you challenge people to accept change by introducing roads, electricity and other development components. In Sarawak, massive public funds are deployed to change the environment in favour of development. As more people become richer, private capital will begin to play an increasingly important role in all sectors. The multiplier effects of the workings of the new economy will gradually upgrade the quality of life of the people and create a win-win situation that wasn’t there in the early days.
Sibu needs the development of Mukah to be able to grow from where it is today. Sibu can only continue to develop if the size of the economic cake in the central region were to grow. Mukah will not lose as a result of Sibu’s desire to get a good share of the growing cake, because Mukah itself will be part of the cake. The shared prosperity will extend beyond the boundary of the area that’s being developed as more people come in and get involved in the process of economic development.
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