BINTULU (July 11): Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom recommends that those planning to build new longhouses should start the construction process correctly from the outset.

He said there are many factors that must be given due consideration before deciding to build a new longhouse.

“The house is a fixed settlement, we need to ensure it remains stable, and the land needs to be surveyed with a title,” he said.

The Kemena assemblyman reminded that one thing that must be meticulously verified is the land status of the proposed site for the new longhouse.

“Please avoid constructing longhouses on land with provisional leases or planted forest status,” he said during the presentation of Minor Rural Project (MRP) and Sarawak Poor Home Improvement Programme (PPRMS) funds for Kemena constituency at Bintulu Agriculture Office today.

He said safety is another critical aspect by ensuring that the site is secure and free from soil movement risks, which could lead to landslides in the future.

“I notice there are many existing longhouses that are either at the back or in front of the site that has collapsed.

“We are not architects, but we must design accordingly so that there will be no risk of collapsing, and this needs proper consultation among the committee of the longhouse,” he advised.

He said even under his Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) many applications had been received for site levelling for new longhouses.

While Sarawak provides a loan of RM30,000 per household, he cautioned against building with a zero budget.

“What is very important is to stay united, because it is not easy to build a new house which is very costly, even though there is YB (elected representative) supporting you,” he said.

Dr Rundi thus called on the people not to take the financial assistance from the elected representatives for granted considering the genuine needs of others.

He also touched on the importance of obtaining high quality education especially among the young generation and issues related to the dilapidated schools in rural areas.

He recalled his maiden speech when first elected as Kemena assemblyman where he highlighted the urgency for good education in rural areas and significant improvement can only be achieved when the rural schools also get all the facilities like in urban areas.

“Knowledge and unity go hand in hand, it must be practised and success cannot be achieved if we are not working together,” he said.

The senior politician added what is also important is for the government of the day to carry out their responsibility that has been entrusted to them by the people accordingly.

He cited the unhealthy political atmosphere in Peninsular Malaysia as an example of disturbance to progress.

“They don’t have time to even look at how to develop and improve the livelihood of the people.

“There will always be by-election, fights and all these don’t benefit the people and we need unity and knowledge together,” said Dr Rundi.

At the same time, he also urged the people to find ways on how to maximise the return from their lands.

“You must compete to produce and to have better income among yourself, compete not on the size of land,” he advised.

During the event, a total of 36 villagers received their cheques amounting to over RM1 million.