LAWAS (April 2): Some residents of Limbang and Lawas are urging the state government to speed up the construction of the Sarawak Link Road (SLR) from these two locations to Miri, as they have been stuck here for nearly two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
While Malaysia’s borders have been open to international travellers from April 1, the Brunei government has yet to open its land borders which would enable residents in Lawas and Limbang to go to Miri and beyond, and vice versa.
A screenshot from a video showing Joanna’s 4WD crossing the Tutoh river with the help of an excavator escorting them.
According to Joanna Fiona Joseph, 25, she and her family had to risk their lives travelling off-road from Limbang to Kuching on Tuesday to send her son to a boarding school in Kuching.
She said they had “no choice” but to use the timber road from Limbang, as they were travelling in a large group.
Joanna Fiona Joseph
“My husband and I are sending off our son to Kuching, who will be in Form 1, while my sister-in-law and her family also joined the trip as she also has a son who will be going to the same school.
“We were travelling in two cars, which took us more than 24 hours (from Limbang to Kuching) including having to sleep by the river in Tutoh, Baram,” she told The Borneo Post when contacted today.
She said they departed Limbang at 4am on Tuesday and reached Sungai Tutoh in Baram six hours later.
However, they could not cross the river as the current was strong and the water level was very high.
“We had to spend one night by the river because we were told it was not safe to cross the mighty Tutoh river, as the water level was still very high.
“We waited until the next morning and had an excavator escort our vehicles to cross the river,” she said.
She added they had to pay RM400 (RM200 per car crossing) to the excavator operator who helped them cross the river.
In the past, there was an iron bridge crossing the Tutoh river. However, it was swept away in a massive flood in May last year, cutting off the lifeline of the people in Tutoh and even up to Long Seridan, Magoh, Limbang and Lawas.
To this day, there has been no news on whether the state government will build a new bridge, which had been previously built by a timber company that once operated in the area.
She said the family decided to take the risk of travelling off-road, as flight tickets are expensive.
“The flight ticket for one person is between RM200 to RM300 (one-way) and because we were travelling in a large group, we felt that flying was not economical,” she said.
Meanwhile, another resident, Sylvester Malan said he wants the state government to build or maintain the present logging road from Lawas and Limbang to Miri, pending the construction of the SLR.
Sylvester (front) and his friends had to pull their car that was stuck in the mud while driving up Bukit Magoh in Baram during his recent trip from Miri to Lawas.
The 31-year-old opined that as long as the current road is well-maintained and repaired, many would prefer to drive their own vehicles to Lawas from Limbang and vice versa.
“The only alternative for those going out from Limbang and Lawas at present is to fly — and flights are very limited.
“We should learn from the Brunei government, who had completed the Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien bridge that connects the Temburong district to Bandar Seri Begawan, which made it easier for their citizens to travel from one end to another without having to go through Limbang,” he said.
Some road users travelling from Miri to Lawas had to spend the night by the road side, especially when there is landslide or raining.
He recalled having to spend four days and three nights on the road last year due to a landslide near Pa’ Adang in Limbang.
“There were a few times my car broke down but there was one time I had to spend four days and three nights on the road as there was a landslide near Pa’ Adang. It would take me around 13 hours if I were to turn back to Miri so I decided to wait there until help arrive,” he said.