Kampung Punang ripe for tourism

Beautiful Punang beach with Bukit Sari and Sabah in the background

June 12, 2015, Friday Philip Kiew, reporters@theborneopost.com

 LAWAS: Idyllic Kampung Punang in Lawas District is ripe for tourism, with the infrastructure and utilities in place to complement the lure of its long beaches, fish products and fine hospitality.

The RM1.5-million booster pump project to ramp up water pressure for Kampung Punang is expected to be commissioned mid next week before the Ramadan fasting month.

Lawas Public Works Department engineer Norman Jan said installation work on the plant had been completed with the project on track.

“We are now connecting it to the water mains and bringing in the power supply to run the pump,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Minister of Public Utilities Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan announced on May 29 the approval of this much-needed booster plan and instructed PWD to commission it before the fasting month begins middle of this month.

He said this would be the answer to the water woes faced by the villagers on the fringe of Bay of Brunei, about 12 km from here.

He made the announcement at the launch of the Kampung Punang halal food processing centre under the One District,
One Industry (SDSI) programme under the Department of Agriculture.

Its iconic smoked fish (Tahai) products have penetrated the Peninsular Malaysia market through collaboration with a company in Pahang, resulting in a new bottled product called ‘Acar Ikan Tahai’.

The centre in Kampung Punang is operated by Lawas Area Fishermen Association.

Among those present to witness the launching ceremony were Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development) Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais, Assistant Minister of Agriculture (Farmers Organisation) Datuk Sylvester Entri, Bukit Kota assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail, Batu Danau assemblyman Paulus Palu Gumbang, Awang Tengah’s wife Datuk Dayang Morliah Awang Daud and state LKIM director M Saidon Abdul Majid.

Meanwhile, the state government has approved a new mosque in Kampung Punang that incorporates unique characteristics of a building ‘floating’ in high tide.

This will be a new landmark in this idyllic coastal village in Brunei Bay where fishing is the main economic activity apart from a budding downstream processing industry.

Besides catering to the religious needs of the expanding population there, the beautiful building will be a tourist attraction for its unique features and location.

The Land and Survey Department in Limbang will be working closely with other agencies to ensure the project takes off smoothly this year.

The idyllic setting of Kampung Punang is poised for tourism development apart from the traditional fishing and downstream activities.

The long jetties for berthing of boats are reminiscent of the scene at Pulau Melayu in Miri where many love stories started or ended. The long jetty in Miri is long gone, swallowed up by the reclamation work for the development of Marina City.

The romantic golden sunset scene, long beaches during low tide, proboscis monkeys in the swampland and dugong in the Bay of Brunei apart from the warm hospitality of the people are ideal for tourism.

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