Tuesday, October 15, 2013

East Malaysia: Rich but Poor?

By            : Mahendran
Student Id : 2012-122380
Topic        :  Ministry of Works


 The Ministry of Works is doing a great job in the development of the Federal road nationwide and construction of tolled expressways. However, it has come to my attention that East of Malaysia is not receiving the necessary transformation. In my opinion, the ministry should give more priority and attention to the transportation system of East Malaysia namely Sabah and Sarawak.
Figure 1: Condition of roads in East Malaysia
            In terms of road network, all the roads of East Malaysia are well connected. However, according to a research by Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA), more than 50% of these roads are still gravel and earthen roads. Currently, the major towns of East Malaysia such as Kota Kinabalu, Keningau and Sandakan still lack a well inter-connected in comparison to roads in Peninsula Malaysia.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        untitled-83-small                                                                                                 Figure 2: Low quality roads gets damaged easily                                                                       
            In addition, Sabah is undeniably one of the richest states in terms of natural resources but ironically, as of 2010, Sabah was stated as the poorest state in Malaysia. Being one of the most populated states in Malaysia, Sabah fails to standout due to lack of connectivity.                                                                        

Figure 3: East Malaysia is rich with natural wonders
.            Despite being gifted with many tourist spots, Sabah and Sarawak fail to be tourist attractions. This is probably due to the absence of roads connecting the rural areas and major towns. But, to develop the interior regions, the road network connecting East and West and North to South should be enhanced.
             Another problem faced by residents of East Malaysia due to mediocre transportation system is congestion of traffic. This is due to the rapid growth of population in the major towns. This issue becomes a hindrance in transportation of goods.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                                         Figure 4: Transportation of goods is hard with horrible roads
           As a result, projects regarding the road in East Malaysia should be given concern to avoid congestions, problems enveloping goods transportation, tourism issues and public poverty.
           I would suggest that the total sum for the provision of Road Network Linkage to be increased to enhance the road connections and to make further connections between towns. This action would pretty much solve all the problem I mentioned earlier and ultimately reduce poverty in East Malaysia.





References:-

1. Samuel Aubrey,Rider Appalled By Poor Road Quality in Sabah, Sarawak,theborneopost.com,retrieved October 15, 2013

2.Sandra Sokial,Sabah Needs 2 Billion to Restore Roads,August 21,2013,Wed, www.theborneopost.com, retrieved on 15 October, 2013.

3. Develop Infrastructure and People as Key Enablers for Sabah's Growth,www.sedia.com.my,retrieved on September,21, 2013.

4.BudgetSpeech(2013,September28),RetrievedSeptember29,2013,fromhttp://www.pmo.gov.my/dokumenattached/bajet2013.




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6 comments:

  1. UnknownOctober 30, 2013 at 10:09 PM

    I strongly agree with your article that the road in some parts of Malaysia are in bad condition especially in rural areas. The project of repairing roads and linking places together indeed should be done to improve our nations in terms of economy and the reputation in our country.
    Something that I am curious with is how about the budget for repairing and linking of roads?

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 5, 2013 at 5:14 AM

    Thank you for supporting. About your question, the budget for repairing roads and bridges for Sabah (as mentioned in 2013 Budget Speech by Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman) is RM 742.95 million. But, according to Borneo Insider on 5th of November 2013, Thursday, Sabah requires 2 billion for road repairs. Therefore, I strongly believe that the allocated sum is not enough for Sabah to flourish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownNovember 12, 2013 at 1:06 AM

      So what will you do to improve the condition?

      Delete
  3. HuinglimNovember 5, 2013 at 4:47 PM

    Yes I agree with your points that you mentions. As I know , even though the government promise to repair and link the roads in Sabah but a lot of the projects of repairing and linking the roads still haven't being conduct yet?So how to solve the problems?
    -Lim Hui Ying-

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownNovember 6, 2013 at 4:36 PM

    Thank you Hui Ying. In my opinion, the government's promise to repair and link the roads hasn't been properly conducted because the majority of residents of Sabah do not know about the projects concerning their roads and the budgets allocated for the projects. This allows room for them to get cheated. Thus, I would suggest that the people of Sabah should learn about the projects and the budget allocated for them. That way, they can know whether or not the projects are conducted and lodge a complaint if the promised projects are not conducted.

    ReplyDelete
  5. subuNovember 12, 2013 at 5:41 AM

    Mahen, I strongly agree with your article because east states of Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah are very rich with their natural resources like rubber, cocoa and timber but they are still using boats as their main transportation hubs in most of the areas although both states are rich.

    ReplyDelete

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