THIS is a major social problem that has not been addressed in rural Sarawak year after year.
The high cost of travel from remote settlements in interior Sarawak to cities and towns is still an enormous burden for more than a million people living in rural areas.
Despite assurances from the Federal and state governments over the years about subsidising vehicle fuel costs, rural folk are still forced to pay exorbitant charges to travel in hired vehicles.
StarMetro got a firsthand look into this issue during a trip to the Penan settlement of Long Lamam in Ulu Baram, which is a seven-hour journey by timber road and at least another 30 minutes by longboat from Miri.
The Penan there spoke about the dilemma they face when travelling out of their village to Miri, which is the nearest urban centre, for urgent needs.
Community elder Liam Iyu said the villagers were still plagued by extremely high transportation charges imposed by operators with four-wheel drive vehicles.
In broken Bahasa Malaysia, he said he often travelled with his family to Miri to sell produce from his farm and go for health checks at Miri Hospital.
His children attend primary school in SK Long San, which is an hour from Long Lamam.
“In order to hire a compact pickup, we have to pay RM300 per person for a trip to Miri.
“For a family of five, we have to pay our transporter RM1,500.
“To send my children to SK Long San, I have to pay RM100 per person,” he said.
He added that the Penan did not have a regular income.
“We plant rice, vegetables and fruits for our daily needs and we sell any extra we have in Miri where the price is higher.
“However, the travel cost is a big burden,” he said.
Iyu asked about the Government fuel subsidy for rural transportation that was supposed to bring down the cost of travel between rural and urban Sarawak.
He said that it seemed the rural transportation scheme was not working or not being adhered to by transport operators.
When the the plight of the Penan was raised with Mulu assemblyman Datuk Gerawat Gala, he said he would look into the matter immediately.
“I will check on this as transportation is a very crucial aspect of life in rural communities,” he said.
Gala is also Deputy Speaker in the Sarawak State Assembly.
He added that as a wakil rakyat, he was trying his best to find a solution to alleviate the hardship faced by his constituents.
There should be regulations to control the charges imposed by operators of vehicles for hire.
However, this will not be easy to implement considering Sarawak has about 6,000 hard-to-reach rural settlements dispersed over an area as big as Peninsular Malaysia.
The high cost of travel from remote settlements in interior Sarawak to cities and towns is still an enormous burden for more than a million people living in rural areas.
Despite assurances from the Federal and state governments over the years about subsidising vehicle fuel costs, rural folk are still forced to pay exorbitant charges to travel in hired vehicles.
StarMetro got a firsthand look into this issue during a trip to the Penan settlement of Long Lamam in Ulu Baram, which is a seven-hour journey by timber road and at least another 30 minutes by longboat from Miri.
The Penan there spoke about the dilemma they face when travelling out of their village to Miri, which is the nearest urban centre, for urgent needs.
Community elder Liam Iyu said the villagers were still plagued by extremely high transportation charges imposed by operators with four-wheel drive vehicles.
In broken Bahasa Malaysia, he said he often travelled with his family to Miri to sell produce from his farm and go for health checks at Miri Hospital.
His children attend primary school in SK Long San, which is an hour from Long Lamam.
“In order to hire a compact pickup, we have to pay RM300 per person for a trip to Miri.
“For a family of five, we have to pay our transporter RM1,500.
“To send my children to SK Long San, I have to pay RM100 per person,” he said.
He added that the Penan did not have a regular income.
“We plant rice, vegetables and fruits for our daily needs and we sell any extra we have in Miri where the price is higher.
“However, the travel cost is a big burden,” he said.
Iyu asked about the Government fuel subsidy for rural transportation that was supposed to bring down the cost of travel between rural and urban Sarawak.
He said that it seemed the rural transportation scheme was not working or not being adhered to by transport operators.
When the the plight of the Penan was raised with Mulu assemblyman Datuk Gerawat Gala, he said he would look into the matter immediately.
“I will check on this as transportation is a very crucial aspect of life in rural communities,” he said.
Gala is also Deputy Speaker in the Sarawak State Assembly.
He added that as a wakil rakyat, he was trying his best to find a solution to alleviate the hardship faced by his constituents.
There should be regulations to control the charges imposed by operators of vehicles for hire.
However, this will not be easy to implement considering Sarawak has about 6,000 hard-to-reach rural settlements dispersed over an area as big as Peninsular Malaysia.
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