KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has urged the Federal Government to revive the Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security (CIQS) complex project in Serudong, Kalabakan in the Tawau eastern district.
The former Sabah chief minister said the Serudong CIQS complex had been identified as a vital infrastructure under the previous Pakatan Harapan administration but yet the project was still suspended.
Shafie, who is also Parti Warisan president, said Tawau was strategically close to north Kalimantan and that the complex in Serudong had been earmarked for development when Pakatan ruled for the first time.
"So, there is a need to relook at the creation of the CIQS to enable close relations between north Kalimantan and Malaysians in Sabah," he told reporters when met during a Chinese New Year event hosted by Warisan vice-president Datuk Junz Wong here on Tuesday (Jan 24).
He was commenting on a recent announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over the preliminary approval by the Finance Ministry for an additional allocation of RM1bil for the commencement of work to upgrade the infrastructure and increase the capability of the CIQS complexes at the Sarawak and Sabah borders.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the approval was given following his recent discussion with Indonesian President Joko Widodo regarding the relocation of Indonesia’s capital to Nusantara, Kalimantan, which shares a border with the two Malaysian regions.
Shafie added that the state government under Warisan’s rule from 2018 to 2020 had also visited Kalimantan to find ways to strengthen the ties between Sabah and Indonesia.
As such, he said the CIQS facility in Serudong must be built as soon as possible to ensure the relations between Sabah and Kalimantan could be enhanced from a political and bilateral aspect.
"In fact, if you look at the plantation sector in our country, we need labour from Indonesia, so we must look at this seriously, and not just to the extent of building the CIQS complex," he said.
Sabah leaders had previously expressed unhappiness following an announcement by then Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof in Parliament in March last year that the CIQS project in Kalabakan would be delayed as the Finance Ministry did not provide funds for it.
Among the state leaders were Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor who said the complex must be built soon or there could be repercussions for Sabah's security.
Hajiji said at the time that he would raise the matter with the Federal Government as the RM600mil CIQS project at the district bordering Kalimantan concerned all Sabahans.
