BINTANGOR – In a recent ceremony at the Meradong State Assembly (DUN) Service Centre, Datuk Ding Kuong Hiing, the Meradong assemblyman, distributed RM164,000 in Minor Rural Project (MRP) grants to 40 beneficiaries, including government agencies, school Parents and Teachers Associations (PIBG), clubs, and local groups.
He emphasised that the initiative highlights the Sarawak government’s ongoing dedication to bolstering rural socio-economic development, especially within the Meradong constituency.
Datuk Ding encouraged recipients to apply for grants early and align their funding requests with realistic activity expenses to ensure prudent use of resources for the community’s benefit.
“The grants granted should be used to the best possible and beneficial to the local community,” he said, adding that they are intended to support programmes that deepen community involvement.
He also noted, “Even the grants are intended to help organisations implement various programmes and activities to increase local community involvement.”
This distribution built on previous MRP allocations in the region. For example, local mosques and suraus in the Semop Constituency, which includes parts of Meradong, received RM12,500 in MRP funding just weeks earlier.
Additionally, earlier this year, 22 organisations in Meradong were awarded MRP grants to support grassroots initiatives.
These grant disbursements are part of a broader push under rural-focused programmes such as the Rural Transformation Programme (RTP), which recently delivered nine development projects worth RM650,000.
Completed on schedule, these projects included road upgrades, health clinic enhancements, and construction of communal facilities.
Together, these efforts exemplify a comprehensive strategy by the Sarawak government to narrow the development gap between rural and urban communities offering financial support, infrastructure improvements, and programmatic opportunities to uplift Meradong’s grassroots sectors.