Fulfil GE13 promises made to Penampang — rep

KOTA KINABALU: Barisan Nasional (BN) must fulfil its promises made to folks in Penampang during the last election, Moyog assemblyman Terrence Siambun said.

Among the promises were the construction of a secondary school in upper Moyog, a health clinic and the mitigation of flash floods in the district, he said.

Siambun, who called for a press conference on Wednesday, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak officiated at the ground breaking ceremony for the school which would be named, SMK Kipouvo in 2012.

“Folks in Penampang especially those in Upper Moyog waited and waited but nothing materialized since the day of the ground breaking ceremony. Then in 2014, I raised the matter in the State Assembly sitting but my question was not answered.

“This led to the setting up of a movement called the Gerakan Belia Upper Moyog (GBUM) which went on to collect signatures from villagers in the area in support of a petition urging the government to expedite the construction of the school,” he said, adding that the petition was handed over to the Education Ministry at Dewan Rakyat in 2015.

According to him, there a dire need for the secondary school to serve the students in upper Moyog so that they can continue their studies. Those who were in secondary schools were lodging with relatives as there were no hostel facilities available for them.

Siambun added that many parents in upper Moyog had started to send their children to urban areas in Penampang to study so that they can get into secondary schools there and these children were living with relatives.

This means that the number of pupils in the primary schools in upper Moyog is dwindling, he lamented.

On the health clinic, Siambun claimed that the promise to have one built in Penampang was made by BNUpko in 2013.

“In 2008, it was announced that a hospital would be constructed in Penampang but in 2013, it was downgraded to a Klinik Kesihatan Kelas 3. I have highlighted the issue several times in the media and Penampang member of parliament Darell Leiking had also brought the matter up in the Dewan Rakyat where he was told that phase one of the project has been initiated.

“But that was three years ago and we have yet to see anything done on site,” Siambun said, adding that even the signboard about the project which was supposed to have commenced on March 15, 2013 and completed on March 19, 2015 had rotted away.

GBUM again initiated a signature campaign for a petition urging the BN government to start construction of the health facility and it was handed to the Health Ministry in Dewan Rakyat last year.

According to Siambun, a hospital is urgently needed for Penampang as the existing health clinic is more than 40 years old and unable to serve the 200,000 over residents of Penampang adequately.

“Also, if there is any health emergency, residents in upper Moyog have to drive all the way to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital I for treatment or assistance. This is considered far for them and we all know that in such cases, time is of the essence. A matter of minutes may save a life,” he stressed.

Touching on the flash flood problem in Penampang, Siambun pointed out that last year, the district was inundated four times and the areas that were badly affected were Kampung Sugud and Kibabaig-Minintod.

“What happened to the RM200 million allocated for the flood mitigation plan in Penampang? Why was it not used to widen the river, and drains as well as to construct a floodgate as well as pump house in Sembulan and Petagas?” he questioned.

Siambun said the longstanding issues with the three projects showed that Upko was unable to fulfil its promises made to the people. It also reflects that most BN projects would take eight to 10 years to implement, he claimed.

“I also want to ask Upko about the GST which it said is good for the development in Penampang. Where is the tax collected? Was it used for development in Penampang?” asked the Moyog assemblyman.