BINTULU: Murum assemblyman, Kennedy Chukpai Ugon, has refuted media reports on the causes of delay in the construction of Metalun National School in Belaga.
He said during a dialogue with government agencies, timber concession companies, and local community leaders in the Murun-Metalun Resettlement Area, all parties expressed their full support and cooperation to ensure the project’s smooth implementation.
“After evaluating all the facts provided, the delay in the implementation of this project is not solely caused by the timber concession company operating here or the local residents, as reported in the mass media recently,” he said in a Facebook post.
According to Ugon, the timber concession company involved did not charge any toll, and contractors only needed to pay road and bridge maintenance fees as stated in the Sarawak Forestry Department circular (DF Circular No. 3/2021), and the contractors had agreed to pay the fees.
However, the contractor has requested that vehicles carrying staff or workers should not be charged any fees. The timber concession company has informed the relevant contractor to apply for an official exemption.
Ugon also clarified that local residents did not interfere or direct the contractor to stop work, as previously reported.
He added that if such an incident occurred, the Public Works Department (PWD) had requested the contractor to record it by video, take pictures, and record it in the site’s daily logbook.
In a voluntary gesture, the contractor had agreed to contribute RM250 to all Metalun Village Security and Development Committees (JKKK) and RM300 to all village chiefs every month.
The Metalun National School project is currently under construction.
