Trans Borneo Railway route should involve Sabah east coast — Mohd Shafie

• Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal: "It's a bit disappointing that the East Coast of Sabah was left out of this development because there was a government plan to develop a Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex in Tawau.

KOTA KINABALU (April 1): Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal hopes the route of the Trans Borneo Railway Project can be reassessed so that it involves a network of routes to the east coast of the state, especially Tawau.

The Semporna MP said the Trans Borneo Railway Project which links Kuching, Sarawak; Brunei; and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah besides Kalimantan, Indonesia is very good for boosting the economy of the areas involved.

Shafie Apdal who is also the former Sabah Chief Minister, said the project is a good catalyst in developing the economy of Kalimantan, Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah, but the railway line is only limited to Kota Kinabalu.

"It's a bit disappointing that the East Coast of Sabah was left out of this development because there was a government plan to develop a Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex in Tawau.

"The CIQ is about connecting North Kalimantan with areas on the east coast such as Tawau which is rich in natural resources and the tourism sector," he said in an audio recording shared with the media here on Monday.

Earlier the media reported that Brunergy Utama Sdn Bhd, a company based in Brunei will be commencing the Trans Borneo Railway project which is proposed to be implemented in two phases involving a route of 1,620 kilometres.

The first phase will connect cities from the west to the east coast starting in Pontianak, West Kalimantan and ending in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah while the second phase involves North and East Kalimantan connecting the main route with Samarinda and the new capital of Indonesia, Nusantara.

Commenting further, Mohd Shafie said the development was not only for the good of Sabah but also for Malaysia as a whole.

"Trans Borneo is also not only for the benefit of the east coast of Sabah but for the benefit of Malaysia. We can benefit from the tourism sector, natural resources and Kalabakan, Tawau is the largest oil palm growing area," he said.

He will raise the matter in Parliament and to the federal government after this so that Sabah can have added value in development of the state, and he hopes that the authorities can play a role in empowering the facility.

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