(Sept 15): Directors of federal agencies in Sarawak have now been given the powers to decide on the implementation of projects in the state.

They do not have to refer to their ministers in Putrajaya, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today when launching work to construct a 43km single carriageway from the coastal town of Sematan to isolated villages in Telok Melano at the extreme western tip of the state.

He said empowering of state directors was part of the devolution of powers currently being thrashed out between Putrajaya and Sarawak.

"This is only the first round of the empowerment," the prime minister said, as he promised to disclose more in his Malaysia Day address in Kota Kinabalu tomorrow.

"The directors should know better of the situation in the state.”

Without going into details, Najib also said decisions to implement federal infrastructure, amenities and other projects in the state would now be made by the state government.

He said this devolution of power would help reduce friction between the state and federal government.

The 43km stretch of road from Sematan to Telok Melano is part of the Pan Borneo highway.

The road connection would lift the isolation of villages here.

Their only communication to Sematan, by sea, is cut during the monsoon season at year-end.

The villagers, living near the Indonesian border, would be forced to go to neighbouring villages across the border for their provisions.

The road is projected to be completed in December 2018 at a cost of RM700 million. – The Malaysian Insider