KOTA KINABALU – A Sabah opposition lawmaker has derided Putrajaya’s decision to provide free RapidKL and KTM rides for a month for commuters in the Klang Valley.
Kadamaian assemblyman Datuk Ewon Benedick said the RM155 million allocation could be better spent elsewhere, such as repairing Sabah’s badly damaged roads.
“For me, the prime minister’s decision to provide the free train rides was (merely) to cover for the inefficient Kuala Lumpur monorail service,” he said in a statement.
If the reason for doing this was aimed at easing the burden of consumers, will it reduce the burden of costs of living after the period is over?”
Benedick, who is also Upko vice-president, highlighted a recent statement by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, who said Sabah requires RM265 million to repair all the damaged roads.
“But why was the prime minister not as quick to address this much-needed assistance?” he asked.
Benedick’s response came after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced free rides for passengers of RapidKL and KTM rail lines for a month.
Benedick noted that the costs of the free rides were around RM140 million for RapidKL alone, while RM15 million was for KTM.
He said these announcements clearly demonstrated that the priority of the federal government is not the needs of the people in Sabah.
The reality of the state and federal governments being politically aligned, and therefore, (the possibility that) development in Sabah could easily be facilitated, is not true.
“Even when former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was still in power, there was no drastic action taken during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Sabah was the last to be included in the vaccination programme.
“Ismail Sabri today showed that he has failed to fulfil the needs of the people in Sabah, as he sees the need for providing free rides (as) more (important) than improving the dismal road conditions in Sabah,” Benedick said.
He added that the federal government should cease subsidising monorail and toll roads if it has still “failed” to adhere to the 40% constitutional revenue rights of Sabah. – The Vibes, June 17, 2022
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