Thursday June 5, 2008 MYT 4:50:18 PM
River, land transport in rural Sarawak comes to a standstill
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: River and land transportation in many parts of rural Sarawak came to a standstill Thursday as petrol and diesel supply ran out following massive panic buying hours before the Government’s new price took effect.
Petrol and diesel shortages have been reported in rural villages and interior towns in central and northern Sarawak as the fuel supply situation gets even more chaotic following the sharp hike in price of this vital commodity.
River and land transportation were badly affected when express boats, longboats and landcruisers could not find enough fuel at the start of their day.
Interior settlements that relied on diesel fuel to power their generator sets to produce electricity for their homes and rice mills were also badly affected.
A check by The Star showed that places like Song, Belaga and upper Balui in Kapit Division, and Marudi, Long Pilah and Long Lama in Baram district faced a severe shortage of the essential fuel.
These rural folks had to bear the brunt of this shortage because they rely on fuel supply from urban centres. The urban centres had been adversely affected by the mad rush by people in towns and cities to buy the petrol and diesel on Wednesday night in order to fill their tanks to the maximum before the new price took effect at midnight Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in Marudi district in interior Baram, many folks were not even aware of the price hike.
The Sahabat Alam Malaysia office was inundated by calls from concerned locals when they found out about the price hike.
“Due to the distance from the urban town, many rural folks did not get to hear the price hike announcement. Only this morning, they realised the situation when they could not buy enough fuel and when they were told that the new price had taken effect,” said SAM Sarawak field officer Jok Jau Evong.
In Miri, the DAP had staged a protest to show their displeasure.
Miri DAP chairman Fong Pau Teck said the party feels that this sudden sharp hike was an act of gross injustice.
He said the Government and Petronas owe the people a good explanation.
News Poll
- Court ruling takes bite out of local council summonses
- Chin Peng apologises for death of innocents
- Girl and stepmum held over bid to kill first wife
- Biggest karaoke session a blast
- New evidence on MCA snoop squad case arrives at doorstep
- Teoh’s body exhumed for second autopsy today
- Victim’s dad nabs kidnapper
- Foreigner falls to her death from condominium
- Puad faces flak over ‘use Bahasa only’ remark
- Malaysians must get regular dental checks
- Court ruling takes bite out of local council summonses
- Malaysians must get regular dental checks
- Chin Peng apologises for death of innocents
- No licence to try offenders
- Big impact in ‘small’ man’s win
- New evidence on MCA snoop squad case arrives at doorstep
- Weapons drawn for new battle
- Johor set to be a medical hub
- Joy for 2,500 housebuyers as SPNB takes over project
- Teoh's second autopsy started at noon
RSS
