Kota Kinabalu: Kota Belud Member of Parliament, Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis
(pic) said the definition of public transportation should not focus solely on LRT and MRT in the Klang Valley or Peninsular Malaysia.
“Sabah, too, needs a complete and integrated railway line to maximise its economic potential,” she said when debating the motion of thanks for the Royal Address in the Dewan Rakyat.
“What is needed to maximise Sabah’s economic potential is to provide enablers that will drive Sabah’s economy more quickly and efficiently. Therefore, the construction of a complete and integrated railway line needs to be expedited once the government study is completed,” she said.
Additionally, she said boat transportation in Sabah can be categorised as important public transport and should be treated like other public transportation.
“We in Sabah today, boat transportation can be categorised as important public transport. So, this needs to be made and given treatment like other public transport,” she said.
She called for boat conditions to be improved, upgraded and empowered.
“If this is done, I believe it will truly be felt by Sabah and only then will this Madani initiative be felt inclusively,” she said.
She also proposed establishing a Borneo Regional Economic Action Council with authority to cut through bureaucracy in implementing critical infrastructure projects in Sabah and Sarawak under the RMK13.
“This is very important to ensure legacy issues that delay Borneo’s development can be resolved and I ask the government to consider it,” she said.
She also pointed out issues with the Pan Borneo Highway in Sabah, saying the government has not disclosed the total number of variation orders (VOs) requested by contractors for each alignment, particularly Phase 1A.
“It needs to be stated for each work package. What is the total new cost that has been added and paid by the government to contractors from when it was first built in 2016 until the package is completed or packages that are not yet completed,” she said.
She questioned whether frequently damaged roads in Sabah involve Federal roads, noting that according to 2024 data, State roads comprise 93.7 per cent of roads in Sabah compared to Federal roads at only 6.3 per cent.
“I want to know what the total allocation is for maintenance of Federal roads and State roads given each year and is it sufficient?
“Secondly, how is the process of selecting maintenance concessions? Is it decided by the Federal or the Sabah government?
“And the question I really want to know is, what is the price of one road concession in Sabah? What is the cost of road maintenance in Sabah compared to the peninsula? Are the specifications set the same? How is monitoring done?” she said.
