Sabah Railway ....Why NOT make it better?

By Datuk Richard Yong

The initiative of Robert Mojolou who filed an application for leave for judicial review at the high Court Registry on Friday with regard to the government’s intention to close all illegal crossing will trigger some hard thinking.

Does the government think simply by closing of all illegal crossings is “the” solution to this problematic railway service? Is the government handling the illegal crossings like the way they handle the never ending illegal immigrant problems?


The formation of a Special Committee by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development is all but an afterthought action. We hope it will not end up like just another committee.

SAPP has repeatedly commented and warned on the improperly planning of the Sabah railway at its initial stage of re-construction. Since the government was going to re-do the railway why not make it better?

The railway stretching 134km from Tanjung  Aru to Tenom did not seem to have a thorough plan, It is but a repetition of a 40-year old rail service with little improvement. The government spent nearly RM400 millions and what we got is a locomotive much to the amusement of the foreigners and tourists.

Datuk Richard Yong

When other part of Malaysia is using Monorail and Light Rail Transit (LRT), Sabah not only did not progress but instead moving huge step backward.

The spending is considered a wastage if It is causing more inconvenience than good.

It did not foresee the possibilities of untoward accidence. It does not have enough safety measures to prevent accidents.

It did not seem to have considered the density of the population in Putatan in particular.

It did not taken into consideration the traffic condition; the risk of the pedestrians, the motorists and the students of the nearby schools.

It failed to see the need of accessibility of the villages, schools, residences and the commercial areas etc.

It has created traffic havoc making the people travelling at snail speed day in and day out wasting unnecessary long hours going to work and returning home in Putatan, Papar and Beaufort.

The plea of the people highlighted by the media time and time again had fallen into deaf ears. Whenever an accident occurred, the usual finger-pointing is all that we can see.

Do we call this “People First” or Project First?

Datuk Richard Yong is SAPP Secretary-general SAPP cum CLC Chairman, Tanjung Aru