`


THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAH
read:
MALAYSIA Tanah Tumpah Darahku

LOVE MALAYSIA!!!


 


Friday, October 17, 2014

Lack of infrastructure the issue in Sabah

Sandakan MP says that once again Sabah has been deprived of allocations for infrastructure.
stephen-wong sabahKUALA LUMPUR: Sandakan MP Stephen Wong has noted that apart from the long-delayed Pan Borneo Highway which still remains under wraps, there were no infrastructure projects in Sabah under Budget 2015.
He was expressing disappointment on Thursday in Parliament that the long-promised 25 km Libaran by-pass in his constituency, estimated to cost RM370 million, was skipped by yet another national budget.
“This by-pass was first promised under the 8th Malaysia Plan and soon we will be entering the 11th Plan next year,” said Wong in debating the budget speech. “Putrajaya can’t give even one infrastructure project to Sabah while they have seven approved for the peninsula under Budget 2015.”
Delving into details, he argued that the first phase of the by-pass, 7 km at RM79 million, was to have been opened in September last year.
He has been left wondering, given past mismatches between words and action, how much of the RM3.6 billion promised for Sabah under the national budget for next year will be delivered to the state.
Sabah, continued Wong, is dogged by the problem of poor infrastructure and this in turn is a major reason for the state’s status as the poorest in Malaysia.
“The DAP has been forced to venture out into the kampungs under its Impian Sabah dan Sarawak Programme to encourage the people to stand on their own two feet to overcome the problem of poor basic infrastructure,” said Wong.
“There are no access roads, and no water and electricity connections in many kampungs in Sabah.”
He cited Pitas near Kudat in northern Sabah, the poorest spot in Malaysia, as an example which has been included under the Impian Sabah Programme.
In his wide-ranging speech, Wong echoed issues brought up by other Sabah and Sarawak MPs in Parliament this session.
These included the exponential increase in the Sabah population in recent decades, the increasing marginalisation of the Orang Asal in their own country as a result of illegal immigrants getting on the electoral rolls, the long-delayed Royal Commission of Inquiry Report (RCI), the oil royalty issue, and the failure of the Federal Government’s “One Country, One Price” initiatives.
He attributed the higher prices in Sabah and Sarawak to the National Cabotage Policy (NCP) which dictates that foreign lines must be kept out of shipping within local waters and that Port Kelang will act as the National Load Centre.
“I wonder how long it will take before the Federal Government realises that the people of Sabah have been suffering for a long time,” he lamented.
The Federal Government’s allocations to Sabah are not given directly to the Sabah Government. Instead, Putrajaya has set up its own mechanisms in the state to disburse allocations through federal agencies, thereby neutralising and marginalising the efforts of the Sabah Government.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.