SANDAKAN – The muddy road in Magandai, Kota Marudu, that was featured in a viral video is still under construction, said Sabah Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya.
Malaysians took notice of the road’s poor condition after two primary school pupils were forced to walk to school for two days after their vehicle broke down.
Shahelmey, who is also state works minister, said Jalan Magandai is in the midst of construction involving 40km – from a junction heading to Kg Tondig to SK Magandai.
“The contractor informed (the ministry) that the machinery is at the construction site and in areas with frequent road damages.
“However, due to the continuous rain, it has caused the soil to become softer, making it hard for construction and maintenance work,” he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, Kota Marudu MP Datuk Wetrom Bahanda told Scoop that the road has been under construction since December 2022.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had allocated RM279 million under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry to upgrade the said road, but works have been constantly disrupted due to bad weather.
“The condition of that road is really bad during the rainy season, but after the project is completed, the problem will be solved,” he said, adding that such a project would usually take about 24 months to complete.
However, Wetrom was unsure when this particular project would be completed, as it would depend on the weather.
He added that, as the people’s representative in the area, he has been inspecting the progress of the project from time to time.
Last Wednesday, a teacher from SK Magandai posted on her Facebook page under the username Moniq Cfrndz about the challenges that two siblings in Years 2 and 3 faced after their vehicle broke down on their way to school.
The vehicle broke down due to the severely damaged road, forcing the teachers and students to brave the muddy road in the rain to get to school.
Unfortunately, they did not reach the school on time and had to stay overnight at a villager’s hut.
Although the pupils are smiling in the video, they said they were tired, cold and hungry.
“They are too young to go through this kind of hardship. It is so sad and heartbreaking to see them walk this far just to return to school,” said the teacher.
Other teachers did not leave the area and had not gone to town for three weeks.
The road is about 70km from Kota Marudu town. Kota Marudu is one of the 10 poorest districts in Malaysia, according to the Statistics Department’s 2022 Poverty Index report.
Last December, Utusan Borneo reported that Magandai villagers said they would spend RM600 to RM700 for vehicle fares to get to Kota Marudu town because not many would want to drive in that road condition.
Those who could afford it would walk about 12 hours to town.
Scoop has reached out to Tandek assemblyman Datuk Hendrus Anding. – January 20, 2024