KUALA LUMPUR: Sipitang MP Datuk Matbali Musah has called for regular progress reports on the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project to be tabled in Parliament.
He said this was necessary to enable all lawmakers, as well as Sabahans in general, to be kept informed of the actual progress and latest developments of the project.
Debating the Auditor-General’s Report 2/2026 in the Dewan Rakyat today, Matbali urged the Government to take follow-up action on the matter.
“We need a more structured and dedicated monitoring mechanism for the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway, complete with timelines, targets for each package, the status of land acquisition and compensation, variation orders, contracts and physical progress,” he said.
Matbali said the Auditor-General’s Report had clearly highlighted various weaknesses in the planning and implementation of the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project.
He said the project had been planned for many years and its management had changed hands several times before coming under the Works Ministry in September 2019.
However, as of March 31, the project was still not fully completed.
“The question is simple — how much longer must the people of Sabah wait? How much longer must Sabahans be patient? How much longer before the promised roads become roads that can actually be used?” he said.
He said the Pan Borneo Highway was crucial to Sabahans, both in terms of connectivity and economic development.
Matbali said the Sipitang area was among those affected by delays in the implementation of the Pan Borneo Highway, particularly the Sindumin-Melalia-Beaufort stretch.
He said the stretch had yet to be fully completed, despite Sipitang serving as a gateway to Sabah from Sarawak, Brunei Darussalam and Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Matbali concluded his debate by reciting a poem highlighting the delays to the project and their impact on the people and leaders.
