SERIAN, Nov 16 — A new method of waste management needs to be implemented in Serian to keep the development in the 12th division on track with the Sarawak government’s plan to make it a "Mini New Zealand”.

Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said during the State Development Coordination Committee meeting that he had been informed that 4,000 tonnes of waste were produced monthly in the division.

"We have to look after the waste (management). We want to get the statistics and (for) the waste to be managed scientifically with modern devices... that is what we want for the future,” he told reporters after the meeting, which he chaired today.

He said the new method could be through the utilisation of high-technology incinerators to reduce landfills and adopting a system to separate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.

"Meaning, we go for the circular economy where the waste becomes energy or (producing) other products out of the waste,” he said.

Abang Johari said he planned to modernise Serian’s infrastructure while maintaining its natural environment so that it could generate a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of RM1.4 billion by 2030.

"At the moment, Serian’s GDP is RM600 million... meaning, we have another RM800 million to go. The growth must be about six to eight per cent,” he said.

According to him, the state government had implemented a total of 80 projects in Serian worth RM368.6 million, which are expected to be completed by the end of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) period.

Meanwhile, he said the Serian Division water supply upgrading works programme, which costs RM1.03 billion, could extend beyond the 12MP period due to accessibility and the implementation of other projects.

Nevertheless, he is confident that the division is on track to achieve the "Mini New Zealand” vision, an idea he had mooted by modelling Serian’s development based on the South Pacific country’s core economic activity.

"Its economy is based on culture and also agriculture. So, I see from the New Zealand model, Serian can also be (developed according to that country’s economic model),” he said. — Bernama