It’s hard to miss a row of stalls with brightly coloured handicraft along the road that leads to northern Sarawak from Sibu. There, locals sell handwoven baskets, clutch bags, backpacks and hats with intricate traditional designs and modern motifs.
Most sellers are from the nearby Sungai Sebintek settlement, some 40km from Sibu. Ask anyone who has driven along the route, where the Pan-Borneo Highway will take shape in the years to come, and most will tell you to stop and check out the handicraft stalls.
Further north lie districts like Selangau, Bintulu, Miri, Limbang and Lawas, while Betong, Sri Aman, Serian and Kuching stretch southwards along the route of more than 1,000km.
“There are also other places you can go, such as Mukah, Dalat, Sarikei, Kanowit, Marudi, Gua Niah, Tebedu, Lubuk Antu, Bario and Ba’ Kelalan.
“You will need a map to name them all,” said Rose, an Iban woman who owns a handicraft stall.
The trunk road that stretches from one end of the state to the other makes travelling easier.
Rose said when she was much younger, she needed to travel using ferries and long boats along Sungai Rajang, Malaysia’s longest river, as well as four-wheel drives.
Where vehicles wouldn’t go, she said, she would trek through dirt tracks cleared by loggers or age-old routes used by natives.
Rose said there were still places that were hard to reach, but reckoned that two-thirds of the state could now be accessed in a day or two by car.
The Sebintek community began venturing in the cottage industry and handicraft after the opening of the road 20 years ago.
“We started selling in the open, then in makeshift huts. Eventually the government took notice and provided us proper stalls.”
Some products are supplied to markets in the central region. Some sellers even take bulk orders.
Like most communities in Sarawak, agriculture remains the main activity for the Sebintek community, but many have found jobs in plantations and urban industrial areas, thanks to the trunk road.
Under the RM16 billion Pan-Borneo Highway project, things can only get better for the likes of Rose.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said the project would open up many far-flung areas and native customary lands that were abandoned.
The highway will eliminate the hassle of long boats and ferries as bridges will be built.
Four of the 12 phases of the highway project were launched last weekend. The other phases will be launched by mid-year.
Najib has assured the people that local contractors will be given priority to be part of the mega project.
Another RM12.8 billion has been pledged to stretch the highway into Sabah, which will boost national integration and provide better opportunities for rural communities.
Better road infrastructure will increase the movement of people and goods, which will spur economic activities in east Malaysia and bolster trade with Brunei.
Rose said the highway would allow her to expand her business.
She said it would let her sell more uyut baskets that look like backpacks and tanggui broad hats.
“We have to move with the times so that we are not left out.”
Roy Goh is NST’s Sabah bureau chief. He finds solace from the hills, the wild and drama movies. Inspiration comes from long drives on the road, off-road and the fairways