KINABATANGAN – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is planning to revive the slogan he created when he held the Rural Development Ministry portfolio – Urbanise Rural Areas (Membandarkan Luar Bandar).
Recalling the time when he was rural development minister (2015-2018), the Bera lawmaker had come up with the poverty eradication programme that targeted infrastructure development in rural areas.
“Poverty is closely related to people living in rural areas. In order to eradicate poverty, the best way is to develop infrastructure in rural areas in the country. Back when I was the minister of rural development, my concept was to develop infrastructure in rural areas.
“My target was for reverse migration to take place, where people who migrated from rural areas to the cities to find jobs then return to their hometowns,” he said at a press conference after launching the Sabah Eastern Zone Pan Borneo Highway here today.
Ismail Sabri said infrastructure facilities in rural areas must first be developed in order for the people in these areas to escape poverty.
He added that once basic infrastructure such as road, water, electricity and telecommunications facilities are sufficiently built, it would naturally attract industrial activity.
This in turn would create job opportunities in the area.
“Same with digital economy – rural folk cannot participate in online business if they do not have access to the internet in their area. Without good basic infrastructure, it is difficult to boost the economy in rural areas,” he said.
Furthermore, he made mention of how the cost of living in rural areas is lower than in urban areas.
He said the creation of job opportunities will attract workers who have migrated to the city to return home – leading to reverse migration.
Ismail Sabri said he will discuss the possibility of implementing the same concept and slogan with current Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.
“There are a lot of things the government has to do in order to help the people in rural areas, especially in Sabah, which is mostly rural. We have to develop the infrastructure. If we cannot do this, poverty will continue,” he added.
The prime minister also said the government through relevant ministries such as the Rural Development Ministry and Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry, among others, are conducting direct intervention to help rural folk increase their income.
On another development, Ismail Sabri said the government is considering using the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) method to fund the rest of the Pan Borneo Highway project’s packages.
The project involves three phases, and Sabah is currently still in the first phase, which has 35 packages. Eleven have started since 2016 and four have been approved, of which three were launched today.
“When there is insufficient allocation from the federal government, we will have to look into the possibility of funding the packages through PFI. However, the government has yet to approve this because it requires further study with the Finance Ministry.
“When it comes to road construction, PFI developers would usually implement toll charges to cover the cost of construction. However, the government had promised that the Pan Borneo Highway in Sabah and Sarawak will be toll-free, so we will have to look into other ways to get PFI,” he explained.
Earlier, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin in his speech at the highway launch said the project has been delayed due to politicking and lack of funds.
He said according to the initial schedule, the federal government was supposed to approve allocation for all 35 packages of the first phase of the project by the end of this year.
“That is why I proposed for PFI to fund for the packages in order for the first phase of the project to go smoothly. With the allocation that we have now, it will take 40 years for the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway Project to be completed,” he said. –The Vibes, November 6, 2021
