Commenced Manufacturing of Ordinary Portland Cement at Sarawak’s 1st Cement grinding plant
On 12 January 1978, in a simple ceremony witnessed by some 40 invited guests and 79 employees, Sarawak’s then Chief Minister – the late Tun Datuk Patinggi Abdul Rahman Ya’kub – turned the knob to start Borneo’s first cement grinding plant, located at the Pending Industrial Estate. The Chief Minister was elated that the State could now depend on local resources and manpower to develop the much-needed housing industry, which was slowly growing. Speaking at a press conference following the opening of the plant, Managing Director, Datuk Haji Amin Satem said that, “with the setting up of the plant, a stable price of the commodity is assured.” Up until then, the cement price had fluctuated depending on the source of shipment. Once the CMS plant was established, the local production price was fixed by the Federal Ministry of Domestic Trade.
