Rural

Upgrading Sungai Asap to Apau Koyan district enhances service delivery by decentralising administrative functions, reducing response times for healthcare, education, and welfare services, and enabling locally-tailored development planning that better addresses the unique needs of interior Sarawak communities.

From colonial foundations under the Brooke era and Japanese occupation to post-war British expansion and asymmetrical autonomy enshrined in MA63, Sarawak’s education system has experienced a profound transformation marked by surging literacy rates from under 10% in 1900 to 91.4% by 2024, yet this progress is persistently undermined by stark rural-urban divides, dilapidated infrastructure affecting 20% of schools, quality deficits reflected in PISA scores trailing regional peers like Vietnam and Singapore, and federal funding biases that challenge both educational equity and the ambitious STEM-driven goals of PCDS 2030.

Telemedicine is transforming access to healthcare in rural Sarawak, bridging long-standing geographical gaps by enabling digital consultations, diagnostics, and medical guidance through innovative infrastructure and collaborative efforts.

Rural youth migration in Sarawak reflects economic, educational, and infrastructural disparities, demanding integrated strategies that connect training, employment, and policy participation to revitalise communities and promote equitable, sustainable regional development.

At the moment, many healthcare facilities in Sarawak are aging and require urgent upgrades.

Our rural communities are rich with opportunity. Rural regions provide essential services to the economy, including food, mineral resources, energy, water, carbon sinks but also other important services, including tourism and culture, that contribute to societal well-being.

The Sarawak government remains dedicated to providing reliable electricity supply to all its citizens and ensure that its initiatives reach more households, positively impacting the lives of people in Sarawak.

Farming systems need to be both more productive and more sustainable; this requires new ways of farming, and farmers who are capable of responding to new challenges, not least the changing demands of food markets.

The launch of solar utilization in remote areas and domestically will be a stimulus for Sarawak's attempts to expand renewable energy power generation in Sarawak in line with PCDS 2030.

A look at the progress of Rural Transformation Project (RTP) since the beginning of its implementation in 2015.