Govt assures repairs for Nabawan flood-damaged roads before school reopens

KOTA KINABALU – The road to SK Pangaraan in Nabawan’s remote Tatalaan, some 45km from Keningau town, will be completed before school reopens next Monday, said Pensiangan MP Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup.

Kurup said road-clearing works had to be done for a stretch between 2km and 3km long of the road and would be completed latest by Saturday based on updates from the district office. 

“I will be going into the village again this Sunday and see for myself the work progress and also bring along supplies and other items needed by the people there,” he told reporters here today. 

Many of the gravel roads in the area and five bridges were damaged during recent floods.

The floods were the worst in Nabawan in decades, said Kurup. 

In early April, photos of teachers enduring an 18-hour hike to the school were widely shared on social media.

Meanwhile, several students were seen using a zipline to cross a river to get to SK Nangkawangan in Sook, while another school, SK Layn was also affected by the floods. 

“Before the incident went viral, I was visiting SK Pangaraan two weeks before the floods.

“I also visited Kg Nangkawangan, where the zip-line was. The local leaders in Kg Nangkawangan had given their assurance that the zipline was only used to transport goods. 

“But you know how children are playful. Maybe the adults who were assigned to monitor the zip-line use were not around when they went on the zip-line to get across the river,” said Kurup, who appeared disappointed by the two viral episodes.

He added that the grant of a special allocation and repairs for all damaged infrastructure were supposed to commence before the two incidents were widely shared on social media last month. 

As an immediate remedy, Kurup said two helicopters were chartered to bring the eight teachers from Keningau to SK Pangaraan on May 8. 

In another development, Kurup said local contractors would be prioritised in the remaining 19 packages of the first phase of the Sabah portion of the Pan Borneo Highway. 

However, he said the selection of tenders for the remaining packages has not been made as discussions are still ongoing.

“Based on our policy and principles, our ministry prioritises local contractors. But they also need to prove they are qualified to do the job.

On May 27, federal Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof announced in Sandakan that the 19 packages, valued at RM12.7 billion, had been approved and would be funded by Putrajaya.

He had said he expected work on the packages to start this year. – The Vibes, June 9, 2022