Melalap-Tenom rail link a relief
Published on: Thursday, February 28, 2019
By: Johan Aziz
TENOM: The Sabah Mamagun Organisation (Mamagun), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) fully supports the railway service system from Tenom-Melalap town being revived because it can contribute to the tourism in this area.
“We strongly support the proposal by State Infrastructure Development Minister, Datuk Peter Anthony,” said its President, Rudy Sulaiman Mairi .
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Anthony said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal is expected to officiate the construction on March 31.
Peter said the State Government sees the benefit of reviving the service especially for agropreneurs who will not only be able to market their produce at much cheaper cost but right up to the state capital.
Not only that, he said Melalap new township will be upgraded to a full district not long from now, as the Chief Minister had, in principle, agreed to give the status if the township continues to progress.
Meanwhile, Rudy said the government should also look into the problems faced by the people in this area, especially from infrastructure development which had yet to reach the people.
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“Let the development (railway) be implemented either in the proposal or the study should be balanced (urban and rural) so that the people in this area feel their interests are taken into account.
“There are more development needs to be considered for this area including the upgrading of roads, water supply and electricity.
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“I believe there are still many infrastructure developments overlooked by the previous government, especially to the people in rural areas who have not enjoyed the comfortable life since Sabah Independence until the explosion of information technology today.
“There are still people who have to walk or use the trolley to town, there are still people who have to go to the river to get water or get water from the gravity pipes and there are still people who have not been enjoying electric lights even near the town.
“For example, residents of Kampung Pangi and several nearby villages are still using homemade trolleys or walking to town because there is no road connecting the village. Likewise, they also do not enjoy electricity although close to the Pangi hydro station, which is only separated by the Padas river, “he said.
Among the balanced development proposed by Rudy is expanding the road from Tenom to Melalap New Township to avoid any congestion in this area every day, especially during peak hours.
Additionally, he said, the government needed to find a way to build bridges or roads as a route to residents and students of Kampung Pangi going to the town and school more comfortably.
“Many students from the village who are studying at the secondary school are forced to rent a residence in Tenom town and this can be avoided if there is a communication system, especially roads or bridges that can connect the village to Tenom town.
“In addition, shortage of clean water and electricity were also experienced by several villages in this area especially during the dry season,” he said.
Rudy was convinced that if the new Sabah Government could implement this balanced development (for urban and rural) proposal for the district, there would have been nobody complaining because their prosperity and welfare had been fought and defended.
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