Longhouse names bridge after Soon Koh

Wong (seventh right) and Andrew (fifth right) declaring opening Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh Bridge.

SIBU: The villagers of Rumah Braoh have named an I-beam bridge at the back of their longhouse as ‘Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh Bridge’.

Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, the direct BN candidate for Bawang Assan, chuckled when he realised that the bridge was named after him.

“I did not know that they have named the bridge under my name until now. However, I appreciate these people who are by nature very appreciative, friendly and hospitable people,” said Wong who declared open the bridge with Andrew Shiling, political secretary to the chief minister, at Rumah Braoh, some 50 minutes’ boat ride from here yesterday.

The bridge which cost RM300,000 and was built within two months has won Wong overwhelming support from residents of the 22-door Rh Braoh, which is situated along Sg Sebedil.

A villager even stood up to apologise to Wong before thanking him for the bridge.

“I apologise for criticising him before. I should not have because he truly is able to bring about this bridge which he promised to us,” said the villager.

With the completion of the bridge, the villagers now can drive their cars to their door steps. Prior to that, they had to park some distance away on one side of the river.

Except for Rh Braoh, the five other longhouses along Sg Sebedil could be reached easily without crossing the river. Sg Sebedil has been linked to Sibu since about a year ago by a plantation road built by BLD Plantation Berhad.

“For him to build a bridge just for the people of Rh Braoh really touches us. As you can see, our whole village (Sg Sebedil) really respects him and highly regard him as our leader,” said a resident of Rh Henry Brayan, one of the longhouses along Sg Sebedil.

She said the linking of the Sg Sebedil settlement to Sibu town has provided them with much convenience and until now, the villagers there were still grateful to Wong and BLD.

“Before the connectivity, every Gawai Festival was an ordeal for those with small children. We got so tired of fighting for a space in the express boat that we had to resort to chartering a speed boat, which cost us RM450 one-way.

“Since our village has been connected for about a year, it has been so easy. From Sibu to the village, it takes only 45 minutes. Now we can come back to our village any time, even in the evening, we can do that if we feel like it.”

“And we want to thank Dato Sri and BLD for making all these possible for us. With road connectivity, electricity is also coming,” said the villager who was a nurse matron before retiring.

Sg Sebedil has been a BN stronghold. In the 2011 state election, the six longhouses showed 98 per cent support to Wong.

Meanwhile, apart from visiting Rh Braoh, Wong also went to meet his supporters at Sg Rassau and Nangka Tutus, a 70-minute and 40-minute boat ride away from Sibu respectively.

In Rassau, Wong’s support however was not as high. James Ansa, who is Sg Rassau DAP chairman, claimed that the opposition would be able to get 50 per cent of the votes in the area.

James of Rh Pasang said the villagers of Sg Rassau were a frustrated lot because the stretch of road linking Rassau to Rantau Panjang was promised to be completed in 2005 but until now, the project was yet to be started.

In response, Wong explained that the road project came to a halt because land owners demanded high compensation for their land to be used for the road. Despite the grudges, Wong was still grateful to the villagers as 70 per cent of the voters in this area still gave him their support in the 2011 state election.

“I understand what they want. However, if the land issue cannot be solved, there is nothing I can do for them. There has always been plan to provide road connectivity to these longhouse people.

“There is actually a RM110-million project to connect the villages along this part of Rajang River to Sibu. However, the whole plan has been put on halt because of land issue,” explained Wong, who is Second Finance Minister as well as Local Government and Community Development Minister.

Meanwhile, Rh Ukar of Nangka Tutus also registered high support of 83 per cent to Wong in the 2011 state election.

Nevertheless, Wong, who has been making rounds in these Iban areas since three months ago, concluded that he could command the support of 85 per cent of Iban voters in the Bawang Assan constituency.

 

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