Category: Dari RAKAN Sarawak

The Sarawak Padi and Rice Board Bill 2026 establishes a statutory body to tackle Sarawak's 21% rice self-sufficiency, aiming for 60% by 2030 through modernisation, private partnerships, and institutional coordination amid global food supply vulnerabilities.

Living Third Spaces are not just locations but webs of relationships that heal communities. Data from Sarawak and global studies prove that regular, levelling, non-clinical hubs build resilience, reduce clinical strain, and transform participants into everyday mental health first responders.

In Sarawak, where 79% of suicides are men, masking pain behind a smile is a deadly norm. RSDM's Third Spaces, ALEC model, peer support, and creative expression transform vulnerability into healing, offering practical coping tools and authentic human connection

Sarawak’s mental health crisis, as surging helpline calls, high suicide rates among young men, and 35.8% prevalence, imperils the PCDS 2030 vision. Depression erodes productivity, unity, and environmental stewardship, demanding urgent community-rooted mental health investment now to avert severe economic and social collapse.

Accessible, levelling community hubs where conversation and creativity foster authentic bonds, resilience, and offer nurturing refuge from daily pressures. These inclusive settings bridge divides, empowering everyday support networks and translating inclusive policies into tangible, lasting human connections, strengthening overall well-being.

Sarawak's agribusiness transformation advances through strategic agro-parks and digital innovation, yet governance gaps in contract farming, Native Customary Rights tenure, and fragmented execution constrain inclusive growth. Achieving sustainable, well-governed business requires institutional consolidation, tenure reform, and full alignment with SDG and ESG principles to realise rural prosperity.