By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 21: The installation of streetlights along the nearly 800-kilometre Pan Borneo Highway has yet to be fully implemented due to financial constraints.
In a TVS news report, Works Minister Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi explained that while the federal government acknowledges the importance of lighting for the long highway, priority is currently given to high-risk locations such as bridges and dangerous curves.
“The government does not yet have the substantial allocation required to install streetlights along the entire Pan Borneo Highway.
“For now, we are focusing on areas most in need, such as dark and accident-prone locations,” he said when responding to a supplementary question from Mohamad Shafizan Kepli (GPS-Batang Lupar) in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Nanta added that such financial challenges are not limited to Sabah and Sarawak, but are also faced in Peninsular Malaysia, where full highway lighting has yet to be implemented.
“Even in the Peninsula, we are still not able to provide street lighting along the whole stretch of highways,” he said.
He stressed that the targeted installation in strategic areas is a short-term measure to reduce road accidents, especially at night.
“The purpose of this initiative is to brighten hazardous areas and indirectly help prevent accidents,” he explained.
Nonetheless, he assured that the government remains committed to gradually enhancing road safety along the Pan Borneo Highway, subject to available financial resources. — DayakDaily
