Barisan Nasional will complete the Pan Borneo Highway in Sabah if it is elected into power in the coming state election, says coalition chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Umno president also pledged that BN would resolve Sabah’s long-standing water and electricity problems within five years if the coalition is given the mandate to govern the state.
“In five years, the frequent electricity and water issues will be solved, God-willing.
“In Sarawak, the Pan Borneo Highway is almost complete. In Sabah, it is not.
“If BN is given the mandate, we will complete the Pan Borneo Highway here within five years,” he said at the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority’s Smallholders Gathering at the Sabah International Convention Centre here today.
The Pan Borneo Highway spans more than 2,000km in total, including about 1,060km in Sarawak, about 706km in Sabah and the remainder in Brunei.
In Sarawak, all packages for the highway project were reported to be 99% complete as of July, with full completion expected in 2026.
Progress lags in Sabah, however, with Phase 1A packages mostly done and Phase 1B only 3% under way.
Zahid said rural and village roads would also be upgraded under a BN-led Sabah government, adding that more federal funds would be channelled to the state overall.
Without naming any administration, he said Sabah’s poverty rate rose after BN left power, contrasting it with the decline recorded under the coalition’s previous governments.
“The poverty rate in Sabah used to be 34.3%. When BN governed until 2018, it dropped to 14.7%. That is BN’s achievement.
“But this year, the rate has gone up to 17%. I don’t want to mention under which government this happened,” he said.
Zahid also issued a warning to BN candidates ahead of the state polls, saying any assemblyman who defects after winning on the coalition’s ticket would face a hefty penalty.
“Any BN assemblyman who wins and then violates his or her mandate will be required to pay RM50 million. We don’t want ‘frogs’.
“Umno and BN only want loyal representatives,” he said.
