KOTA KINABALU: Sabah should prioritise addressing critical issues that matter most to the people before considering co-hosting the 2027 SEA Games, says Sabah Bersatu women’s chief, Rahimah Majid.
She said matters like water and electricity supply, infrastructure and port facilities should first be improved and addressed before talking about hosting the SEA Games.
"First and foremost, the state government should work harder to improve the reliability and sufficiency of our power and water supply, as well as our port facilities.
“I believe the vast majority of Sabahans would agree that these areas leave much to be desired. This is a major reason why, despite the government's marketing efforts over the years, Sabah has struggled to attract a significant number of high-calibre investors," Rahimah said.
Other top priorities should include providing more affordable housing, improving public transportation, upgrading education and healthcare facilities, enhancing tourism infrastructure including the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) and implementing flood mitigation programs in flood-prone areas, she said.
She also noted receiving numerous complaints from property owners and agents that unreliable water and power supplies, along with flooding issues, have negatively affected property values.
"In some cases, even when owners tried to sell below market value, there were no takers," Rahimah said.
In stressing the need to address the rising cost of living, especially escalating food prices, which has become increasingly difficult to control, she said a responsible and forward-thinking government should focus on the welfare and well-being of its people.
“Everything else is secondary," she added.
Rahimah said this in response to a statement by Sabah Youth and Sports Minister, Datuk Ellron Alfred Angin, who announced that the Sabah government has agreed to consider co-hosting the 2027 SEA Games.
Ellron had said that the state cabinet unanimously supported the idea during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, after evaluating the various aspects involved.
In her statement, Rahimah also praised State Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun for his remarks that Sabah was not ready to co-host the international sporting event due to inadequate sports facilities.
She pointed out that the actual cost of upgrading the facilities may exceed the proposed RM100mil budget for co-hosting the games.
She expressed confusion over the lack of communication between the federal and state governments regarding plans for Sabah's involvement in this event.
Federal Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh had earlier said that Sabah has agreed to co-host the 2027 SEA Games with a RM100mil hosting pledge but the state later clarified that it did not know about this agreement.
Rahimah criticised the federal government for expecting Sabah to contribute RM100mil towards co-hosting the games while refusing to return the 40% revenue entitlement owed to Sabah under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
"This is like adding insult to injury," she concluded.
