Kota Kinabalu: Merotai Assemblyman Sarifuddin Hata wants the Sabah Government to include Kalabakan roads in the supplementary allocations, as these routes were excluded from the Pan Borneo Highway project.
He said the deteriorating road conditions had long troubled residents who frequently travel between Kalabakan and Bandar Tawau, including schoolteachers commuting to work.
He said poor road infrastructure could damage the State’s image once the planned cross-border route from Kalimantan to Kalabakan becomes operational.
“If only the stretch from the Kalimantan border to Kalabakan is newly constructed, while the road from Kalabakan to Bandar Tawau remains in poor condition, this will tarnish our image when people from Kalimantan enter Malaysia,” Sarifuddin said when debating the 2025 Supplementary Supply Bill at the Assembly.
He also criticised what he perceived as government spending priorities, questioning multi-billion-ringgit announcements while basic infrastructure issues like water supply, roads and electricity remain problematic.
He cited examples which included the purchase of SMJ car licence plates for RM3.96 million and RM8 million allocated for cyber troopers, contrasting this with the RM5 million given to Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
“We do not need to pay cyber troopers. If the government does its best, the people will see it. We do not need to play around on social media with negative perceptions,” he said.
