Press media by ADUN Tanjong cum Chairman of DAP Sabah YB Datuk Poon Ming Fung @ Frankie:
KOTA KiNABALU; Today Sabah Deputy Minister of Finance II YB Tan Lee Fatt, DAP Sabah Organising Secretary Ms Liau Fui Fui and I made a courtesy visit to the Federal Deputy Minister of Finance, YB Steven Sim at his office in Putrajaya.
I had the opportunity to bring up the issues of shortfall of PPR housing; current transhipment issue in Sabah: the need for 3rd parallel road leading to Sandakan Airport from town to ease the perennial traffic facing Sandakan community.
According to Sabah Minister of People’s welfare Datuk James Ratib, Sandakan is short of no less than 5K units of PPR housing. I hope that Federal MOF and Ministry of Local Government Housing would work closely together to increase funding for Sabah PPR Housing build up, in particular Sandakan. I personally as a people representative, have received many requests for letter of support in application for PPR Housing. The fact that Sabah has 8 of the 10 most poor districts in Malaysia speak for itself .
Transhipment is provided for under the Law. However the practice of Transhipment of rice and sugar not in bulk have also been permitted with special permission from Custom Dept in recent years under the Bimp-Eaga economy to boost East Asia Economy. However this business may have to shelf if the Custom Dept does not reverse its decision by allowing this business in smaller quantity to be shipped. When this kind of business ceases many will be out of jobs as each transhipment would require not less than 80 workers for every shipment out.
Each month would see not less than 400 thousands tons of rice and sugar per year being shipped out under this business under transhipment. The lost of business will occur and many more will loose their jobs.
Traffic jam at Sandakan Southern Ring Road has been a daily occurrence during rush hours. Both the current roads at Southern Ring and the North Road leading to the Airport have not been spared. Some have suggested with the building of a flyover in each section. Personally pending the application and approval of flyover to replace both the roundabouts at Mile 8 in order to ease traffic, I think it will be far cheaper and faster to approve funding to construct the duly approved new road from Bandar Letat to Airport.
