Build bridge before we die, appeal villagers

Posted By admin On April 13, 2010 @ 8:22 AM In Local | Comments Disabled

LONG ATIP, Apoh, Baram: One of the biggest Kayan settlements, Long Atip in Apoh, Baram is in dire need
of a proper bridge across the river.

And many longhouse folk have given up on seeing

the construction of the promised bridge in their
lifetime.
About five to six hours’ drive by 4WD-vehicle from
Miri, Long Atip is accessible by logging road from
Long Lama.
“My wish is to see the bridge before I die,” said Aban
Jau Ing, an elderly Kayan in his 70’s, whose
sentiment is shared by many of the senior citizens of
the 115-door settlement, who are unhappy with the
sorry state of the infrastructure there.
A group of disillusioned senior citizens there had
sought the help of Sarawak Kayan Association, Miri
to highlight their plight, and their spokesman Laing
Ngau said the present old suspension foot bridge
linking the settlement to the road across the Apoh
River could collapse anytime.
STILL WAITING: Aban Jau Ing (seated) and other
It was built by the Agriculture Department two senior citizens at the concrete block where a Bailey
decades ago, and it is now akin to a death trap, Bridge was supposed to be built a decade ago.

with broken coils of cables and decaying wooden structures.

“We want the relevant authorities to look into the matter before any catastrophic accident happens as we
were promised a metal bridge as early as 2002 and up to this day, there is only a slab of concrete to show,”
they claimed.
The bridge foundation was built at a cost of RM30,000 and the villagers were told that it would be given top
priority.
“Almost 10 years have passed and we at this kampung are still waiting,” Laing lamented.
Meanwhile, Philip Ngo, the chairman of Sarawak Kayan Association, Miri said he had told the group he would
bring their grouses to the relevant authorities.
He said he had personally seen the run-down suspension foot bridge and was left shaking his head in
disbelief at the dice with danger daily by the longhouse people to cross the river while painfully aware that it
could collapse under their weight.
Many of the wire cables are rusty and at many parts the supporting cables have snapped while the pegged
down wooden posts are rotten.
Since the Bailey bridge foundation was already constructed a decade ago, he said it did not make sense that
after almost 10 years the bridge had not been constructed.
The new metal bridge would link Miri, Long Lama to Long Panai, Long Terawan and the famous Mulu caves,
opening up the area for tourism and agriculture development.
He urged the authorities to look into the matter urgently and to heed the prime minister’s call to serve the
Long Atip people’s needs without delay as the bridge was urgently needed.
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