BAU: Improved infrastructure and the welfare of the community in the Opar constituency are among the things demanded by the constituents, from the elected representative who will win the seat in the 12th Sarawak State Election on Dec 18.

Voicing the hope, Kampung Opar chief, Dewen Giam, 52, said that the Jalan Bau-Sematan infrastructure should be upgraded as soon as possible to make it easier for residents to use it to conduct agricultural activities.

Apart from that, he said that an effective drainage system in the area should be given serious attention, to prevent the yearly floodings that occur in the village, which is located about 40 kilometres (km) from Kuching city.

"We need good roads to access agricultural areas. The villagers plant oil palm on their own land which is not big and is scattered. If there is a good road, it will help them do the planting of the crops.

"The drainage system in this area is also not well maintained. Here, it gets clogged easily when grass grows, which causes frequent floodings," he told Bernama.

The Opar seat has 58 villages, with the majority of the population consisting of two large Bidayuh groups - the Salako and Jagoi tribes.

Situated in the Mas Gading parliamentary constituency, the Opar seat covers the districts of Sematan, Lundu and Bau.

Meanwhile, a check by Bernama at the only Malay settlement in the state constituency, Kampung Temaga Melayu, which is located about 80 km from Kampung Opar, found that residents here want the welfare of the fishing community to continue to be looked after by providing certain incentives, especially during the monsoon season, which is currently affecting them.

Representing the Sematan-Lundu Area Fishermen's Association, one of the residents, Sarip Eddi, 52, said 40 per cent of the residents there earn a living by working as river or sea fishermen.

"Now it's the northeast monsoon season, we can't go down to the river to look for clams, snails and prawns, let alone go out to sea. So, carpentry activities are used as a source of income to support the families.

"We hope that the state or federal government continue or increase the cost of living assistance to us whenever we cannot go to sea. If there is no assistance, some fishermen will be adversely affected as this aid helps ease our burden," he said, adding that 705 residents live in the 107 houses in the village.

He said among the incentives received by the fishing community, apart from the petrol subsidy, was RM250 a month from the federal government and RM50 a month from the state government.

Apart from carpentry, Sarip said the residents there also engaged in agricultural activities, such as black pepper cultivation and free-range chicken farming.

According to the Election Commission (EC), the total number of Opar seat voters is 11,436, with 45.23 per cent (5,173) of the electorate being between 30 and 49 years old.

Incumbent Datuk Ranum Mina, from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) will slug it out against five opponents - Billy Sujang of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Meneng Biris of PKR, Saini Kakong of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB), Bayang Teron of Parti Sedar Rakyat Sarawak (Sedar) and Freedy Misid of Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), to defend the seat on Dec 18.

In the last state election in 2016, Ranum won the seat on a Barisan Nasional ticket, with a majority of 2,082 votes.

-- BERNAMA