MALAYSIAN STATE SEES NO URGENT NEED TO BUILD ROAD TO BY-PASS BRUNEI

By Hamdan Ismail

LAWAS (Malaysia), Nov 20 (Bernama) -- The Sarawak Government sees no urgent
need to build an alternative road to enable travellers from Limbang and Lawas to
by-pass Brunei to reach Miri.

Limbang and Lawas are two northern-most districts.

State resource, planning and management second minister Amar Awang
Tengah Ali Hasan said he was aware of calls to build such a road but as of now,
it was not a priority for the state government.

"As far as the state government is concerned, there is no urgent need to
build a road to by-pass Brunei," he told media members participating in a
'Program Kembara Media 2010' organised by the information department Saturday.

Currently, travellers from Limbang and Lawas and vice-versa, need to pass
through Brunei's territory to reach or travel from Miri.

The route requires travellers to go through eight border check-points if
they travelled between Lawas and Miri, and four border checkpoints between
Limbang and Miri.

Awang Tengah said the state's priority now was to upgrade the road linking
Lawas and Ba' Kelalan near the border of the Indonesia's territory of
Kalimantan.
"Eventually, we will connect this road up to Bario, but not up to Miri," he
added.
Meanwhile, he disclosed that the state government would continue talks with
the Brunei Government on the feasibility of building a bridge over Sungai
Pandaruan, a river which formed the border between Brunei and Sarawak.

He said proposal for a bridge over the 20-metre width river was discussed
since the Eighth Malaysia Plan period but could not be implemented due to
certain international matters involving Brunei, and Sarawak being part of
Malaysia's state.

"We knew that the (construction of a) bridge (crossing Pandaruan River) was
important (to ease the journey) not only for us but also for the people of
Brunei," he noted.

-- BERNAMA