Kota Kinabalu: Nabawan Assemblyman Datuk Abdul Ghani Mohamed Yassin called for rural areas to be given priority and larger allocations under Sabah’s development budget for infrastructure and public facilities, in line with efforts to uplift the socio-economic status of the people through the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) 2.0 Development Plan.
He said Nabawan, the fourth largest district in Sabah which includes the smaller Pagalungan sub-district near the Indonesian border, continues to face pressing challenges, particularly in basic infrastructure and public amenities.
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Abdul Ghani also urged the State Government to clarify the current status of the list of projects, or “wishlist”, submitted under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) for the Nabawan district in early 2025, which was proposed for implementation beginning in 2026.
He also questioned delays in the implementation of several development projects in Nabawan valued at more than RM500,000, including the construction of the Nabawan town bridge and the Nabawan Native Court building, which he said had exceeded their original schedules.
According to Abdul Ghani, clearer and more transparent explanations are needed, particularly regarding issues at the implementing agency level, as the projects concerned have a direct impact on the wellbeing of the people.
In this regard, he proposed improvements to project management procedures and a reduction in bureaucratic processes between the central or headquarters level and the district.
He also suggested that the value threshold for small-scale work quotations at the State level be increased in line with rising current costs.
Abdul Ghani also recalled complaints raised by the public during the previous election campaign, including unforeseen incidents resulting from delays in upgrading two bridges that had been repeatedly raised during Assembly sittings.
He stressed that these issues must be resolved immediately by the responsible agencies, such as the Public Works Department, State Water Department, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd and other relevant parties, without further delay.
He further called for damaged village concrete roads under State supervision to be monitored and repaired promptly, as well as upgrades to key connecting roads, including former logging and agricultural routes such as the Kampung Pemunterian to Kampung Ulu Mesopoh road, which stretches approximately 12 kilometres.
Abdul Ghani also proposed the construction of concrete gabions along riverbanks, particularly in the Pagalungan sub-district, to prevent landslides that previously destroyed several homes.
On electricity and clean water supply, he said there are still numerous complaints from residents in the interior of Nabawan who have been waiting for electricity connections for a long time, as well as ongoing issues with water supply disruptions or murky water during the rainy season.
As an interim measure, he proposed the provision of alternative supplies such as Rural Electricity Supply (Belb) and Alternative Rural Water Supply (Balba), particularly for remote areas.
In terms of land administration, Abdul Ghani sought clarification on the status of land lots under the Nabawan Scheme, including whether the State Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry, intends to dissolve the scheme and gradually hand over the land lots to local communities, given that most of the land has already been developed.
He also questioned the status of the application to gazette Mukim Tatalaan Nabawan, which he said should be expedited due to demographic changes in order to facilitate administrative matters.
