KUCHING: Proposed stage bus and express bus services along the Pan Borneo Highway linking Sarawak and Sabah will provide better transport connectivity for people in rural areas, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said bus services were discussed during the Rural and Regional Development Ministry's coordination meeting with the Sarawak government at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here on Monday (July 3).
"We are looking at improving accessibility for rural folk. This includes providing stage bus and express bus services along the Pan Borneo Highway in Sarawak and through Brunei to connect to Sabah, all the way to Tawau," he told a press conference after chairing the meeting.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said Mara Liner Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Mara Corp, would carry out a feasibility study and pilot project on the bus services.
He said the pilot project would start this month in the Samarahan and Santubong parliamentary constituencies.
"Although the stage bus service is not expected to be profitable, it will have a strong social impact on the community.
"The costs can be covered by the express bus service," he said, adding that this was a long-term plan.
As for going through Brunei, he said the operational details were still being fine-tuned.
Ahmad Zahid also said rural water supply projects in Sarawak would now be implemented directly by the state's Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB).
"This will allow for more efficient implementation as it no longer has to go through another department," he said.
He added that the decision was in line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's directive that Sabah and Sarawak would have full control to implement Federal development projects below RM50mil.
