SANDAKAN folk were surprised by great news in January 2018, when the then Barisan Nasional government announced the establishment of an urban transformation centre (UTC) in the coastal town.
Then deputy chief minister Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah had said works to prepare the building to house the facility would commence in the same year – making it the fourth UTC in the state after those in Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Keningau.
In the build-up to the 2018 general election, BN candidates in the district emphasised the UTC as part of the coalition’s promises to the people of Sandakan if it won the polls.
The rest is history: all the BN candidates in the constituency lost save for one – DAP won Elopura and Tg Papat, while Warisan wrested Sekong, Karamunting and Gum-Gum – while the Sandakan parliamentary seat was also taken by DAP.
Seeing the urgent need for a UTC in Sandakan, the Pakatan Harapan administration decided to proceed with BN’s plan and identified the Sandakan Municipal Council tower as the proposed location.
In September 2019, Sandakan MP Vivian Wong confirmed that the facility would be set up by 2020.
The government services expected to be available at the UTC include the Immigration Department, National Registration Department (NRD), Road Transport Department, police station, utility companies such as the Sabah Water Department and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd, a community clinic, the Sabah Lands and Surveys Department, Sabah Islamic Religious Affairs Department, and post office.
The UTC – a brainchild of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak – aimed to provide urban communities with a centralised location for core government agencies, public amenities, and the services of the private sector.
Similar to the 12 UTCs nationwide, it could tremendously benefit the people of Sandakan as the service counters would be centralised, with operating hours set from 10am to 7pm daily, including weekends.
However, all hopes came crashing down when Perikatan Nasional took over following the Sheraton Move last year.
The administration announced in the Dewan Rakyat in August 2020 that the plan to set up a UTC in Sandakan had been shelved due to the government’s financial difficulties.
With Sandakan’s population of nearly 400,000, the government agency facilities built more than three decades ago are deemed inadequate to meet residents’ demands.
This is due to those from surrounding districts, like Beluran, Telupid, Tongod and Kinabatangan, also travelling to Sandakan for government services that are unavailable in their areas.
On a typical working day before the Covid-19 pandemic, the NRD office in Sandakan would look like it was hosting a “kenduri”, with people crowding the compound.
It was a sight that residents had grown accustomed to – if one wanted to apply for a new MyKad at the NRD office, they would have to take at least half a day off from work.
Given the shelved plans for the much-needed UTC, the Sandakan populace brought their hopes for it to be revived to the attention of Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong Ket Kiun, who voiced out the matter in the state assembly recently.
However, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Md Noor said the Finance Ministry (MoF) is unable to fork out the allocation for the project due to the expenditure for Covid-19 relief.
Replying to Hajiji’s query on the subject, MoF informed the Sabah government that the decision not to green-light the project came after taking into account that the state already has three UTCs.
It seems that federal government officials are not aware of Sabah’s size, as major cities and towns, such as Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Keningau, are a six to eight hours’ drive from Sandakan.
Despite MoF deciding not to continue with a UTC in Sandakan, it ended its reply to the issue with: “However, MoF will inform (the Sabah government) if it is ready to re-evaluate the proposal, subject to the financial situation of the country.”
This could mean that there is still hope for Sandakan to have the facility, or that MoF is hoodwinking the Sabah government into not raising the matter in the future – though it is true that Putrajaya has spent a lot of money on Covid-19 relief since last year.
Although Sandakan is expected to be declared a city by next February, its people will have to accept that despite being the second-largest city in the state, it will not have its own UTC any time soon. – The Vibes, October 11, 2021
Rebecca Chong is a journalist with The Vibes based in Sabah
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