Pairin meets British envoy to Manila

MANILA, February 1 (Daily Express) -- Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan concluded his four-day working visit to the rural areas here with a meeting with British High Commissioner to the Philippines Peter Beckingham.

During the 90-minute visit, Beckingham, among other things, touched on the British concession to Mabey and Johnson concerning the allocation for quick construction of strong bridges in various countries.

Also present during the visit were Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing Edward Yong Oui Fah, Mabey and Johnson's Business Development Director Miles Potter, Pairin's Deputy Permanent Secretary Abduk Razak Datuk Walli, Deputy Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development Ahmad Ag Hashim, Finance Ministry's Project Director Yong Kion Vun and Assistant Director of the State Economic Planning Unit Shamsiah Jirat.

Mabey and Johnson had obtained an allocation from the British government to implement the Malaysia-UK sharing proposal to build bridges in rural areas of Sabah.

A reasonable allocation with easy repayment tenure and an annual interest rate of below 25 per cent is among the items contained in the proposal and the implementation of the projects will also involve local contractors.

Pairin's entourage returned to Sabah Wednesday and will prepare a report for the Chief Minister for deliberation at the Cabinet meeting.