Bintulu town is a centre of Bintulu Division, situated in the northwestern part of the State of Sarawak. From a quiet fishing village in 1970s, today, Bintulu town has transformed itself into a bustling industrial centre hosting multi-billion ringgit investments. The population of Bintulu town increased dramatically from 25,000 in 1970’s to 102,761 in 2000.

Photo : Aerial view of Bintulu Town

Bintulu is envisioned to become an Industrial City by 2015. Various mega industrial projects have taken place and being planned in Bintulu. Thus, realising the increasing negative impacts that these massive industrial development would bring to the town and Division as a whole, the Healthy City concept was then introduced to guide the development planning in Bintulu.

The State Planning Unit and State Health Department initiated the expansion of the Healthy City concept to Bintulu in 2002. Several meetings and briefings were organised with the relevant agencies in Bintulu to explain and create awareness about the Healthy City concept. The Divisional Healthy City Committee led by Resident Bintulu was formed to spearhead the movement of the programme, and at the same time, the Technical Committee led by Bintulu Divisional Health Office was set up.

The first Bintulu Inter-Agency Healthy City Conference was held on 22-24 October 2002. The objectives of the conference were:

• To introduce the Healthy City Concept to various government agencies, private sector, NGO and communities;

• To integrate various programmes and projects undertaken by agencies into the Healthy City scope;

• To develop vision, mission, and objectives for Bintulu Healthy City Programme; and

• To formulate Plan of Action for Bintulu Healthy City Programme

The conference has highlighted various problems and issues pertinent to the daily living of urban dwellers in Bintulu. The group of participants discussed the issues/problems and come up with the Plan of Action, which are multi-agency oriented.