Kota Kinabalu: Former Kota Kinabalu Member of Parliament Datuk Hiew King Cheu wants the Federal Government to ensure highways and roads in Sabah are as well lit as those in the peninsula, as this has been has been blamed for many fatal accidents.
“Why are we in Sabah still driving in the dark despite contributing so much money to the federal coffers,” he said in a statement, Wednesday.
He said Sabah is left in the dark despite being part of Malaysia for 60 years, while the streets in Malaya are all lit up.
“Drive only a short distance out of any town in Sabah and you will end up with no streetlights to illuminate the road,” he said.
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It won’t cost billions of Ringgit to construct lights in Sabah and if the Federal Government is sincere it would set aside the funds.
He hoped Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would look into this urgent issue.
“I recall Anwar complaining about the dark roads leading to Kota Marudu when we were campaigning together in the past,” said Hiew.
“Sabahan are requesting the fundamental needs and rights that Sabah is entitled to. We simply want a fair and equal partnership in Malaysia and do not want to be viewed as being of a lower class or grade, Hiew said.
He said previous Federal governments did not take streetlights in Sabah seriously despite lives being lost and people injured on dangerous roads.
He cited Kota Marudu town, a bustling town with heavy traffic, whose roads remain dark and questioned what the people’s representative there had done about it?
“Tourists are pouring into Sabah right now. Imagine how they’d feel driving on our dark roads and how terrible it will be if they were hurt or killed while using our roads,” said Hiew.
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