Kuala Lumpur: Sipitang Member of Parliament, Datuk Matbali Musah, wants the Works Ministry to look into the Pan Borneo Highway, specifically the Sipitang-Beaufort stretch which has not been properly supervised, resulting in vehicle damage and accidents.
He said this when debating the Motion of Thanks for the Royal Address here recently.
AdvertisementHe also sang two verses of Berita Kepada Kawan to illustrate the hardships faced by the people due to damaged roads and the prolonged delays in the Pan Borneo Highway.
Matbali said Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek personally experienced difficulty traveling on the road during her visit to Sipitang to officiate the opening of the new Sipitang District Education Office building.
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He pointed out the importance of the stretch as the only connecting route from Sarawak and neighbouring country Brunei Darussalam to the State capital, Kota Kinabalu.
Advertisement“Recently, there was a briefing between the Public Works Department, concession holders, contractors and community leaders, but there were no answers or solutions provided.
“In fact, many technical disputes were raised including issues related to documentation, specifications, design, and variation orders,” he said.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Additionally, he requested relevant agencies to upgrade and elevate roads, as well as improve drainage systems in Kampung Suasa, Bangkalalak, Kepawa, Lubok Weston and Bintuka roads.
Matbali also asked the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) to consider building a Fish Landing Complex in Sipitang.
He said local fishing communities need systematic landing facilities or bases to improve their operations, yield and productivity. He noted that to date LKIM has not built any modern Fish Landing Complex in Sabah, despite the proposal being included in the 13th Malaysia Plan list.
Citing statistics, he said Sipitang is among the districts in the Lower Interior with a considerable number of fishermen at 755, while other districts include Papar (911 fishermen), Beaufort (994 fishermen) and Kuala Penyu (1,416 fishermen).
“Local fishermen have also requested LKIM to first renovate the existing Rumah Nelayan in Sipitang as an initial facility,” he said.
In addition, he suggested that the Ministry of Youth and Sports expand youth leadership programmes to the grassroots level, offering educational programmes and skills training.
He said in Sabah, there is only one skills institute under the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, namely the Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN) in Kinarut.
“In this context, it would be appropriate to consider establishing several more IKBN and possibly a Institut Kemahiran Tinggi Belia Negara,” he said.
Matbali also raised the issue of frequent flooding in Sipitang and requested the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation to provide immediate allocation for flood mitigation projects.
He said the allocation is needed to implement the Sindumin Flood Mitigation Plan, with proposals for spillway construction, high-level drains and related works at Sungai Mengalong, Sindumin, as well as deepening of Sungai Lukutan Hilir.
