Uggah: JKR Sarawak recruiting some 440 technical staff, pledges sufficient personnel for Kapit

KAPIT (Aug 8): The Public Works Department (JKR) Sarawak is in the midst of increasing its manpower statewide, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

Uggah, who is Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development, announced this in response to issues faced by the implementing agency, particularly a shortage of staff here.

He said as Kapit encompassed an area as big as the state of Pahang in the peninsula, Kapit Resident Galong Luang had shared on the need to increase manpower here.

“I am happy to announce that we are going to increase manpower for PWD (JKR). PWD Sarawak is in the midst of recruiting some 440 staff – technical.

“By the end of the year, 2024, we’ll be able to send sufficient staff to Kapit and they could start work in early January 2025,” he said following a closed door briefing on Kapit’s infrastructure development today.

Uggah explained his visit was to receive feedback from local elected representatives as well as various implementing agencies on project implementation and challenges.

“We also wanted to know the total coverage of roads in each state constituency in Kapit Division. The purpose is we hope to plan and propose infrastructure.

“We hope that there is a strategy to link all rural longhouses and kampungs to the main road and town,” he explained.

Works Minister Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi, who is Kapit MP, said many projects have been planned and proposed.

“A lot have been implemented, some completed, while others delayed because we faced problems in implementing projects. This briefing is timely and very useful to receive feedback from both sides.

“We also heard from Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas how we would be assisted on the projects yet to be completed or proposed projects to be implemented,” he said.

He pointed out the new approach by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg is from the ‘bottom up’, where projects requested and urgently needed by the grassroots are brought to the top leadership.