The impact of road development in the context of rural community development: an exploratory study in Suai Hilir, Miri, Sarawak

Abstract

Rural development has always been one of the highlighted agenda in Malaysia. This is especially true when numerous development projects have been undertaken since the Second Malaysia Plan while more intensive efforts are extended and planned in the Ninth Malaysia Plan. The progress however, made little improvement to minimize the gap between the urban and rural areas. While the urban residents experience improvement in various aspects in their life, a large portion of their rural counterparts (especially in East Malaysia) are still living without clean water supply, more sustainable resources and road access to connect them to the more developed segment of the area. In 2006, the longhouse communities in Suai Hilir witnessed major changes in their livelihood when the Pantai Bakam - Suai - Tanjung Kidurong road that stretches 178 kilometers was finally completed. More often than not, it is assumed that road developments will bring positive impacts to the marginalized communities. This statement on the other hand, is often questionable as undesirable impacts may come alongside such developments. This paper aims (i) to study the changes experienced by the longhouse communities in Suai Hilir in response to the materialized road project and their adaptation to the changes and (ii) to examine their perceptions of the "benefits" of the road development and how to make it more desirable to the communities.