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CORRIDOR OF POWER
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RESOURCE-rich Sarawak's launch of its development corridor plan wraps up the unveiling of Malaysia's long-term economic development blueprints. The fifth plan, and the last, the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) will bring more development to a state where, less than two decades ago, just over one in five people lived in poverty. Now, only one in 14 of them do, as development since 1990 reduced poverty by almost two-thirds. Such a sharp reduction in poverty levels is a remarkable achievement by most measures. Having the lowest population density in Malaysia, and the largest area, Sarawak has done well to bring development to its far-flung communities. Still, the state has the fourth highest incidence of poverty in the country, after Sabah, Terengganu and Kelantan. Between 1999 and 2004, Sarawak had the third slowest growth rate in household income, of 3.7 per cent a year. Indeed, the gap between national and Sarawak household incomes doubled in size during that time. The mean Sarawak household was 16 per cent behind the national mean in 2004, double the 7.9 per cent gap in 1999. With Score, it is banking on its vast untapped potential to improve the quality of life of its 2.4 million people. Creating more than a million jobs over 22 years will bring rich economic opportunities. Sarawak has among the youngest populations in the country, behind Kelantan, Sabah and Kedah. The under-14s were estimated in 2004 to number close to 800,000, about a third of the total population. In the future, they will need skills training, work opportunities, housing and infrastructure, and all these need investment. Sarawak's greatest challenge is to spread and pace its development according to the human potential of its dispersed people. If Score succeeds in drawing the anticipated RM334 billion in investment between now and 2030, it will help close one of the largest regional gaps in development and income in the country. Among the least industrialized states in Malaysia, Sarawak will soon offer abundant, renewable energy to power-hungry industries, a deeply attractive prospect amid today's sky-high oil prices. It seems appropriate then that Score incorporates one of the few physical links between East and West Malaysia: the proposed dual submarine cable to transmit power generated by the 2,400 megawatt Bakun hydro-electric dam. Score is thus not merely a localized plan but an endeavour to better integrate the economies of the North Borneo state with the rest of the country. New Straits Times contributed to this report. |