TONGOD: A formal appeal has been submitted to reinstate a proposed 50km road linking Kampung Kenang-Kenangan to Desa Permai in the rolling plan of the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK-13).
Kuamut Assemblyman Datuk Masiung Banah said the project is the most urgent infrastructure need he has championed in nearly two decades as a lawmaker.
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He said a working paper for the mid-term review was submitted to the State Government through the Sabah Public Works Department in April, enabling the Federal Finance Ministry to consider relisting the proposed project.
“We submitted a formal appeal because road connectivity there is extremely urgent. It is the single most important proposal I have put forward since becoming a representative in 2008,” he said after officiating a 16th State Election Thanksgiving ceremony and Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration at Kampung Kuamut.
He said the road project, estimated to cost RM350 million, had been made a priority in the mid-term review so it could be implemented as an urgent project under RMK-13.
“I have worked hard to fight for this road since becoming a representative across five terms because I can see how badly the need has been pressing on the lives of Kuamut residents for more than 60 years.
“I sympathise because more than 2,500 residents from five villages in the area are forced to pay boat fares of between RM500 and RM700, and must spend between five and seven hours travelling to conduct business in Pekan Tongod, Bukit Garam, or Kinabatangan,” he said.
Masiung said he was initially taken aback when the project was not listed in RMK-13 data at the start of this year, despite having been repeatedly raised through the State Legislative Assembly.
“That is why I am pressing the Government to relist the Kenang-Kenangan-Desa Permai road for implementation through the RMK-13 Rolling Plan,” he said.
He hopes the Federal Government will act on the appeal, noting that residents in the area had never enjoyed road access since independence — a wait now stretching six decades.
He said the proposed road network would begin at Kampung Kenang-Kenangan and pass through Tulang-Tulang, Tangkuyan and Desa Permai before reaching Kuala Kuamut and Tongkong.
He added that when residents face emergencies, particularly serious illness or women in labour, they are forced to spend between five and seven hours to reach Tongod or Bukit Garam Hospital by boat.
