Kuching: DAP Sarawak Chairman Chong Chieng Jen has urged the State Government to prioritise providing Sarawakians with “world-class” living conditions, rather than building more “world-class” buildings and structures to showcase the State’s wealth.
Chong, who is also Stampin MP and Padungan assemblyman, criticised the government’s plan to spend more than RM10 billion on a new airport, calling it a misplaced priority when many Sarawakians are still struggling to make ends meet and businesses are finding it hard to survive.
“When residents in housing areas in Kuching towns are complaining about broken drains, poor infrastructure and a lack of street lights, the most common answer from the local authorities is ‘No Money’.
“Yet, the State Government is planning to spend more than RM10,000 million on a new airport when the existing one can more than serve the purpose,” he said in a statement.
Speaking on the potential of a new airport compared to the existing one, Chong said it is obvious that Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap is ignorant of the capacity of the runway at the existing Kuching International Airport (KIA).
“The length of the runway in KLIA is approximately 4,000 meters, whereas the length of the runway in KIA is 3,780 meters.
“Both can handle large aircraft, including Boeing 747/777 and Airbus A380-800 (a 850 passenger capacity plane),” he said.
He added that since the construction and completion of the new KIA runway in 2006, it can handle large aircraft, including Boeing 747/777 and Airbus A380-800.
“Almost 20 years have passed, and yet the state government still cannot procure a sufficient passenger load to attract airlines to deploy a Boeing 747/777 or Airbus A380-800 flight into and out of Sarawak on a regular schedule.
“This clearly shows that the current runway of KIA is under-utilised. An expansion of the terminal is more than sufficient to cater for any increment of passengers using KIA,” he said.
Chong said that the priority of the State Government is to plan how to attract more visitors to Kuching and Sarawak, rather than spending another RM10,000 million on building a new airport when Sarawak cannot even attract one regular Boeing 747 flight to use KIA.
“My advice to the State Government is to use the wealth for the people, not to flaunt with mega projects. The RM10,000 million can be used for upgrading drains, roads, and lighting in all housing areas, as well as commercial areas.
“Also, give grants to small and micro businesses to tackle the e-invoicing and digitalisation transformation, provide bursaries to more Sarawak students for their tertiary education (not only those studying in State-Government-owned universities), help in the medical expenses of the poor and the sick,” he said.
