KOTA KINABALU – Datuk Arthur Kurup came to the rescue of several teachers who had to trek for 18 hours on a muddy road to reach their school in the depths of Nabawan, Sabah.
After news reports surfaced over their plight which involved going through 30km of mucky roads, the deputy works minister said on Facebook that he had leased two helicopters to fly these eight teachers to SK Pangaraan, an isolated school in far-flung Tatalaan, Nabawan, beginning this Monday.
“I have the helicopters to bring the teachers back to the school without the use of the muddy road and rivers, which had been destroyed due to an abnormal flooding incident recently.
“Usually, the journey to the area will take between three to six hours depending on the weather. But the recent floods have destroyed the bridge connecting to the area and some of them were forced to go to the school by foot,” he said.
Nabawan is part of Kurup’s Pensiangan parliamentary seat.
The lawmaker also said that emergency funds have been approved by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri to repair the infrastructure damaged by the heavy floods.
Technical officers have been despatched to the respective sites, while repair works on the damaged suspension bridge leading to SK Nangkawangan and SK Layn have begun a few days ago despite the fact that the work crew faced limitations due to the Hari Raya holidays.
“We expect the other repair work to begin soon. Although faced with many challenges, we will expedite the repairs,” he said. – The Vibes, May 8, 2022
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