PBB man concerned about possibility of Pan Borneo Highway project being scrapped
KUCHING: A senior Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) man has expressed his concern about the possibility of the Pan Borneo Highway project to be scrapped by the present Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led government.
PBB supreme council member Pandi Suhaili said such worry derives from the announcement made by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who said a number of mega projects initiated by the previous administration that might be stopped to ‘save the country money'.
The affected developments might include Bandar Malaysia, Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and Pan Borneo Highway.
According to Dr Mahathir, this decision was made on ground that the nation's debt had reached RM1 trillion – or more than 65 per cent of GDP – insisting that this was among the measures to reduce government's expenditure.
“If the Pan Borneo highway project is stopped, that is an act of betrayal – one that is denying the rights of the people in Sarawak and Sabah,” Pandi told The Borneo Post recently.
It is reported that as at April 25 this year, the progress of Phase I at all 11 works packages for the Pan Borneo Highway development was at 22.87 per cent – ahead by 2.44 per cent from the schedule.
To note, the 1,663km highway network comprise 936km of stretches across Sarawak and 727km in Sabah. The total construction cost is RM27 billion.
“Sarawakians have been waiting for it (Pan Borneo Highway) for so long. It would have been much cheaper if the project was carried out much earlier,” opined Pandi.
Pandi also expressed his hope that there was no malice or ill-intention such as revenge involved in the decision to halt the Pan Borneo Highway or other major development projects in Sarawak.
“Apart from Pan Borneo Highway, all other projects meant for the rural folk that were approved by the previous administration must be continued by the new government – it is their responsibility to the people of Sarawak,” he said.
Pandi also suggested the revival of the ‘parliamentary secretary' position created by Dr Mahathir in the early 90s.
“Tun Dr Mahathir should revive the ‘parliamentary secretary' position meant to train Sarawak and Sabah leaders like (Deputy Chief Minister) Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim and Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe, before gradually promoting them to become (federal) deputy minister and finally a full minister,” he said.