Building Pan Borneo Highway Even in Full is Insufficient

KOTA KINABALU - “Sabahans are smarter than the Sabah ministers and are able to see through PM Najib’s rhetorics on the Pan-Borneo Highway and promises on development” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief noting that the announcement on the Sabah portion of the Highway falls short of the expectations of Sabahans.

Perhaps the Sabah ministers know it but are muted and unable to voice out compared to Sabahans who do not depend their positions on the political leaders from Putrajaya and Malaya.  If so, they must start to stand up for Sabah and speak as Sabah leaders in no uncertain terms and emulate the Sarawak leaders who have openly stood their ground on Sarawak’s interests.

If they are unable to see through the PM’s rhetorics, then the Sabah leaders have no moral standing to be in the Sabah government.   They should just step down graciously and allow Sabahans to elect more capable leaders who are prepared to stand up for Sabah’s rights and entitlements.

While the announcement that the initial portion of the Pan Borneo Highway will start early next year and that it will be built by Sabah contractors by the PM is welcomed, it is clearly insufficient on three grounds.

First, the announcement is clearly crouched in vague terms without details.  This is probably because the details cannot be disclosed as was in the past that the Highway will not be a full dual carriageway all the way from Sarawak to Sabah but with some overtaking lanes and only be completed in 2025, which are totally unacceptable.

Second, not only must Sabah contractors be allowed to build the Highway.  The allocations should be sent to the Sabah government for the Sabah government to decide fully on the Highway.  Even the top directors and engineers in Putrajaya and JKR Kuala Lumpur will not have the intimate knowledge of the local circumstances and the requirements of the local sections of the Highway let alone proper supervision as can be seen from past bad experiences.

With the funds in Sabah’s hands with own decision making and supervision, there is no necessity for any bureacracy and begging for decisions from Putrajaya, the Highway which will be a full dual carriageway or at least the major portions can be completed by 2018.

Third, Sabah is not just in need of the Pan Borneo Highway.   There is a crying and urgent need for proper roads throughout Sabah as almost all rural roads are gravel roads and unsealed.   There are also many areas that need proper rural roads but do not even have a proper gravel road.   These needs are not only in the interior and rural areas but within 20-30 kms of Kota Kinabalu.

What a shame despite 52 years of promises that development will be provided to Sabah on par with Malaya?  To be honest, if the federal government stop all road developments in Malaya and channel all resources to Sabah and Sarawak, it will take 20 years of road development for Sabah to catch up to be on the same level as Malaya.

If the Prime Minister is sincere to develop Sabah on par with Malaya and Sabah leaders hold themselves out as leaders for Sabah, the proper course would be for the Sabah government to build the Pan Borneo in full, a dual carriageway, with allocations channeled to the Sabah government directly.  At the same time, work on all rural roads shoud commence in 2016 and target for completion by 2018 together with the completion of the Pan Borneo Highway.

If it is going to cost the federal government RM50 billion, so be it.   Spending RM50 billion over 3 years for Sabah is already mistreating Sabah compared to the RM50.5 billion allocated in Budget 2015 to build the additional 2 lines of light rail transit in Greater Kuala Lumpur at RM32 billion on top of the first line budgeted at RM36 billion and another RM16.1 billion for four highways in Malaya.

There is no reason to deny Sabah’s fair share of development which were promised in 1962-1963.  If not for Sabah and Sarawak’s oil and gas resources, Malaya would not be as developed as it is today.

Malayan leaders especially the Malays in Umno should be thankful to Sabah and Sarawak for what they are enjoying in terms of road development in Malaya.

Let the federal government find ways and means to raise the money which should only be a small matter since they were able to raise RM42 billion easily and without much benefit for Malaysians whle the RM50 billion will reach out to all Sabahans.   After all, Sabah has been touted time and again to be Umno’s “fixed deposit”.