‘RM50k for wooden jetty includes safety cost in crocodile-infested waters’
Crocodiles and poor access to Kampung Mutap, some 60km from Miri, are among the reasons why a 15m wooden jetty there cost RM50,000, said the Sarawak Public Works Department.
It said this in response to public outcry over what appeared to be an overpriced wooden jetty located 18km away, or 33 minutes drive from the small town of Bekenu, according to Google Maps.
It added that the cost of material is based on the department's schedule rate of RM9,000 per meter cube of belian timber, which is actually below the market rate.
"In establishing the cost of RM50,000, various factors had been carefully taken into account, inter alia, the condition of road access (jalan ladang) to Kampung Mutap, logistics as well as safety measures considering that the area is infested with crocodiles," the department said in a statement.
It added that the department initially proposed a steel jetty, but used belian wood instead as it was cheaper.
It said during a site visit in September last year, the village head had initially requested for a 30m jetty with a wooden shed but this was not plausible with a RM50,000 budget.
As such, the village head agreed that the shed will be built in the second phase of construction upon securing additional funds from the local elected representative.
It was also during this site visit that department staff were warned of the crocodiles.
The contractor, Bukit Balat Company, was chosen through balloting, by a committee chaired by Miri resident Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusuf.
The contractor had three months to build the jetty but completed it within a month.
A joint inspection by the department, contractor and the village head done on April 6 found the jetty to be deemed satisfactory, the state Public Works Department said.
Earlier, the department received brickbats over the project, after it announced its successful completion on Facebook. The posting has since gone viral.
Social media users questioned why such a simple construction cost so much, while others argued that RM50,000 could pay for a concrete jetty with safety features like handrails.
Others mocked supporters of the GPS state government, claiming it was their reward after the last state election.
The Sarawak Public Works Department’s explanation, too, has not quelled criticism.
Netizens commented that it should have provided a breakdown of the cost instead of blaming crocodiles and the village head.
"Now the village head becomes the key point of the issue and crocodiles which can't speak are dragged in as well," one Facebook user observed in the comments section of the department’s post.
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