King harbours desire to drive entire length of Pan Borneo Highway

PETALING JAYA: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah aspires to drive through the Pan Borneo Highway to meet the people there once the project is completed.

“I am very happy with the implementation performance of phase one of the Pan Borneo Highway in Sabah and Sarawak which began in 2015, and is supposed to be fully completed by 2024.

“It is my dream to drive the length and breadth of this Pan Borneo Highway, particularly for me to get to know the rakyat closer - in the interiors of the Land of the Hornbills (Sarawak) and Land Below the Wind (Sabah),” the King said when opening the 15th Parliament on Monday. (Feb 13).

His Majesty said his road trip is currently being planned by Istana Negara, along with the federal and respective state governments.

The Pan Borneo Highway is a road network on Borneo island connecting Sabah and Sarawak with Brunei and Indonesia's Kalimantan.

Phase one of the RM16.117bil Pan Borneo Highway involves the construction of a 786km stretch of road in Sarawak from Telok Melano to Miri.

Elsewhere, the King noted that the government had taken immediate action to resolve the issues related to claims made by Sabah and Sarawak related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Among the issues that had been addressed, he said, were related to transfer of power and supervision of gas supply to Sabh, recognising the Works Departments in Sabah and Sarawak as technical departments, and improving the special allocation for the two territories.

The King also said that attention should be given to the development of the court complexes in Sabah and Sarawak to further strengthen the administration of justice there.

His Majesty added that other infrastructure development involving the construction of rural roads, bridges, housing, and utilities, would be further improved.