Alternative Tawau route needed: Justin
Published on: Thursday, May 25, 2023
By: Jonathan Nicholas
Justin said PBS raised the matter in the 90s, adding there must be a feasibility study for access road from Tinagat to the mosque in town, which is about 7km away, for the benefit of 500,000 residents.
Kota Kinabalu: Tawau needs an alternative route, in addition to the single stretch in and out of the district.
Sri Tanjong Assemblyman Justin Wong said the Tawau-Sandakan roads are shared daily with heavy-load vehicles.
ADVERTISEMENT “There are 30 oil palm fruit collecting centres in Apas and Balung, with each having at least 100 lorries, in addition to timber trucks.
“Working commuters are stuck for hours in the jam. Balung alone has 5,000 houses and another 2,000 People’s Housing Project homes where most are government workers.
“There are five schools along the single road. Because of this, it is congested from morning till evening,” he said.
He said PBS raised the matter in the 90s, adding there must be a feasibility study for access road from Tinagat to the mosque in town, which is about 7km away, for the benefit of 500,000 residents.
ADVERTISEMENT At the State Assembly sitting on Tuesday, Justin asked how many jobs have been created and people employed under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah Hala Tuju initiatives as the country’s highest unemployment rate is in Sabah.
“When Esteel Sabah was granted approval to build a steel plant at the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park, it was never revealed how many jobs were given to locals.
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“I hope the relevant ministry could discuss this opportunity to drive Sipitang’s social economy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Balung Assemblyman Datuk Hamid Awang said federal roads from the Tawau airport to the town are still dark even after two years
He said the lights have gotten dim since two years ago when they were still under the Council’s responsibility.
“However, in 2021, it came under the federal Public Works Department (PWD) and yet no action has been taken.
“I understand that the Sabah PWD has highlighted the matter to its headquarters but nothing has been approved.
”I ask the Ministry to monitor and maintain the lampposts and replace rundown feeder pillars and lampposts as these endanger the safety of road users,” he said.
He also said the water plant in Balung, which produces 20 million litres per day (MLD), needs upgrading to produce 60MLD as the demand is increasing with new housing areas.
“If this can be done, then we can be rest assured that Balung and Apas will be stocked for a long time. This will also ease the life of villagers.”
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