Tourists flock to the beautiful town of Kudat on the northernmost tip of Sabah, famed for its picturesque ocean views and traditional gong-making villages. Meanwhile, mainly ethnic Rungus villagers of Kampung Bongkol in Pitas, Kudat live in deporable conditions.
Without treated piped water, the villagers rely on ancient wells to for water supply. The 19 kilometre road to town is untarred, heavy rain turns the dirt road into unpassable muddy rivulets.
While the Sabah BN government has yet to provide proper water supply and road tarring for the villagers of Kampung Bongkol, it recently announced the construction of a RM430 million bridge that will link Semporna to Gum-Gum Island.
DAP Sabah Secretary Edwin Bosi slammed Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman for bragging about multi-billion ringgit mega projects while development has not reached remote parts of Sabah even after 54 years of BN rule.
Pitas lies three hours by road from Kota Kinabalu and is home to 194 villages with a combined population of 40,000. It has been categorised as one of the poorest districts in the nation in the past few years.
Sabah itself has the highest poverty level in the country at 16 per cent, more than three times the national average. As a result, many Sabahans are forced to leave their home state to seek employment in the Peninsular.
In the previous Parliament sitting, DAP State Assemblyman for Sri Tanjung Jimmy Wong raised the issue of poor infrastructure in Sabah, but Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan brushed it off as “cheap publicity talk”.
Bosi said that having a strong opposition is important in the process of nation building and that the opposition’s role was to act as “eyes and ears” for the rakyat to get the government of the day to do its part.
Speaking at a meet-the-people on 3rd March 2012 organised by DAP Kudat, Bosi urged the people to throw out the government which has been “blowing its trumpet very loud” while the rakyat were languishing in poverty.
The State Assemblyman for Pitas is Assistant Minister Datuk Bolkiah Haji Ismail of UMNO-BN. –The Rocket.
I read your text while looking for information on Pitas-Sandakan trunk road,on distance,resting places,condition and expected travelling hours.Can somebody enligten me on this!