feature

Bintulu, the central Sarawak coastal town once famous for its belacan (prawn paste) and now for its liquefied natural gas (LNG), has all the trappings of wealth.

The small population of about 50,000 ranked among the world's wealthiest because of Bintulu's projects and their resultant wealth.

It is home to the world's largest LNG producing plant, and the Bintulu Port is being readied to export more than 21 million tonnes of LNG to ready buyers in North Asia, including Japan.

A sleepy hollow in the early 1970s, it generates billion ringgit revenue for companies that include Petronas, the national petroleum company, and Shell, as well as the federal and state governments by way of taxes and royalties.

The latest and third LNG plant which cost RM6 billion will be ready in two years.

Bintulu also enjoys a sizeable income from bi-products of the oil and gas industry. Chemical fertilisers, wax, kerosene and other related products known as middle-distillate synthesis are produced for the export market, mainly US.

Then there is the traditional local industry - timber. A few companies have become extremely rich because of logging and timber-based manufacturing.

Shocking transformation

Returning visitors are often shocked to find that Bintulu has undergone vast changes in the last 20 years. Modern buildings, hotels, shops and houses (some costing millions) paved the car-filled roads that lead to the oil and gas industrial sites in Tanjung Kidurong.

Bintulu is beautifully landscaped and it impresses visitors.

Yet, behind it all, many locals are not happy. After all, it elected the sole opposition member in the September state legislative assembly elections. DAP Chiew Chiu Sing told malaysiakini despite the phenomenal physical changes in the town, most people cannot relate to the newfound wealth.

"Most of these people are simple wage-earners who struggle to support their family and sometimes find it difficult to make ends meet," he added.

One of the reasons is that outsiders, especially expatriates, who come to work here have also wrought changes, not always for the better, on the town. Nightlife, entertainment and food centres have sprouted to cater to them. For a small place, the town has many hotels which enjoys good capacity. Indeed, Bintulu has all the trappings of a "boom town".

Opposition voice

In the last state elections, Chiew upset the ruling Barisan Nasional by beating the incumbent Michael Sim by less than 150 votes majority, but still the victory for Chiew was a sweet one. "It is never easy to take on the high and mighty Barisan Nasional with their awesome machinery and resources," he said.

Yet, the voters in Kidurong constituency decided on Chiew, and the reason is not difficult to see.

One woman executive with a big corporation said the opposition is needed in Bintulu. She pointed to the cost of building roads.

"Here the road could cost as much as RM3 million to RM4 million per kilometre when elsewhere it would not cost more than RM2 million. We need somebody to speak out on matters like this," she said.

Higher cost of living

Another complaint is the higher cost of living. Civil servants who do not earn any more than their counterparts in other parts of the state feel the pinch. The ordinary office workers just manage to get by on their salaries. The exceptions are those working for the big corporations in Tanjung Kidurong who enjoy better salaries, allowances and bonuses.

A new airport that can take in Boeing 737 is under construction and the contract has been awarded to well-known Sarawak corporate figure Ting Pek Khiing. The airport, ready in two years, is outside the town area.

The present airport has reached capacity and local residents who prefer to fly instead of driving to Miri, Sibu or Kuching on badly-maintained roads often find themselves crammed in the outdated terminal.

Billions are being spent on new projects - the LNG plant, LNG jetty at Bintulu Port, new office blocks and new roads - but most of the benefits do not filter down to the locals and this is making a lot of people unhappy.

The DAP assemblyman said when contracts go to locals, they often get the crumbs at the bottom-most tier. Sometimes, the contractors even have to finance the middle-men and suffer when they are paid late or are not paid at all.

In the last sitting of the state assembly, he raised the plight of the Bintulu townfolks and pleaded with big corporations to give them more consideration and benefit from the huge oil-and-gas projects so as not to arouse further dissatisfaction and anger among Sarawakians.