SIBU: Several proposed projects here will be included under the recently concluded 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) debate in Parliament for evaluation.
Sibu MP Oscar Ling Chai Yew said among them is a new modern prison costing RM300 million, to be built at Mile 10, Jalan Ulu Oya, with a capacity of 1,000 inmates.
According to him, the current Sibu Central Prison (SCP) can only accommodate 450 inmates but is already housing 700, well exceeding its capacity.
“The overcrowding problem is not due to rising crime rates but rather to the surge in drug addicts.
“Therefore, parents must pay close attention in monitoring their children to prevent them from getting involved in drugs. SCP was built during the Brooke era in 1918 and is one of seven century-old prisons in Malaysia.
“The old facilities are extremely outdated, making the construction of a new prison urgent,” he said in his speech at a Subsidised Goods Sale programme held at Daesco Supermarket in Star Mega Mall here last Saturday (Aug 30).
Responding to some online comments suggesting that building a bigger prison encourages crime, he stressed that this is absolutely not the government’s intention.
He stated the government’s true goal is to see a peaceful nation with a low crime rate so that more funds and efforts can be directed towards national development.
He also pointed out that those who follow the news would know that under the 13MP, the government intends to build a new block within the Sibu Hospital compound to house more facilities and provide expanded medical services, particularly for cancer and cardiac treatments.
This, he said, includes cancer radiotherapy services and is estimated to cost RM1 billion.
He said the hospital expansion is intended to meet the growing demand for patients, especially as Sibu Hospital plays an increasingly important role in central Sarawak, in line with its gradual upgrade into a regional referral hospital.
However, he added that the government ultimately hopes that the people will place greater emphasis on their own health and exercise regularly so that fewer hospitals will be needed, household financial burdens will be lighter, and quality of life will be improved.
Ling also highlighted that the government takes the issue of school bullying very seriously, especially following the recent tragic case in Sabah involving a 13-year-old girl, Zara Qairina, whose death from a fall drew nationwide concern.
Bullying must be addressed at its root cause, he said, adding, with the wide range of content circulating on social media, the government needs to monitor and regulate it to reduce social problems.
This year, he said, Parliament has also passed a bill concerning social media, specifically to regulate online speech.
Thus, he reminded netizens to be careful with what they post because spreading false information, defamation, character attacks, or cyber bullying could result in legal consequences.
Meanwhile, touching on the subsidised food sale programme, he said it has been a long-term initiative by his service centre and has consistently received overwhelming with 1,000 sets of goods selling out within the event period.
“The programme, aimed at easing the people’s financial burden, has received positive feedback from the beneficiaries.”
