PETALING JAYA: Sarawak’s most remote interior which is home to the Penans will be the focus of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s visit to the state on July 22.

Najib is expected to visit several Penan settlements in Ulu Baram, which is in the innermost reaches of northern Sarawak.

His visit to Ulu Baram is significant because it is the home base of the Penans who have been in the news over allegations that their women have been victims of rape and molest.

There have also been numerous reports of intrusion into Penan land by loggers.

Najib has made several official visits to Sarawak since becoming Prime Minister in April last year but this is the first time that he will venture into the interior reaches of Sarawak.

He is seen as making good a promise he made during an earlier visit where he said he wanted to have a first-hand look at the more far-flung areas of the state.

He is also expected to meet state Barisan Nasional leaders in view of state elections which have to be held by July next year and which are expected anytime soon.

Najib has described Sarawak and Sabah as his “fixed deposit,” that is, states he can rely on for political support.

The forthcoming visit reaffirms his commitment to this eastern state as well as his promise not to neglect the rural folk who live in areas accessible only by boat, trekking or helicopter.

He covered quite a lot of ground on his first official visit in June last year, visiting the Sri Aman, Sarikei and Sibu divisions.

His second visit included a down-memory-lane trip to an interior village which his late Prime Minister father had visited back in 1966.

He has also launched the Malaysia Day celebration in Kuching in September last year and the annual convention of the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, the leading component of the state Barisan.