Labuan Bridge a necessity to boost island’s sluggish economy, says PKR

KOTA KINABALU: Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement of a feasibility study on a bridge to connect Labuan to the Sabah mainland has not impressed Labuan PKR, which described it as a “recycled issue” to fish for votes.

Speaking to FMT, Labuan PKR chief Simsuddin Sidek said the call for the bridge had been a major issue for Labuan and studies had been conducted over the past 20 years.

He said he himself had led a petition campaign to push for the construction of the bridge.

“I view the proposal tabled by the prime minister in his Budget 2018 speech as nothing but rhetoric and a final attempt to fish for votes,” he said.

He said he was frustrated that the issue had been recycled so many times, especially when an election was near.

Simsuddin pointed out that the latest proposed feasibility study was expected to take up to five years, which coincidentally would just be time for the next general election.

“It is obvious they are just playing with the people’s emotion and giving us hope while never intending to carry it through,” he said.

The feasibility study proposed by Najib would cost RM14.32 million while the previous feasibility study conducted in 2009 cost the federal government RM5 million.

The last study revealed that the suggested 11km bridge would cost between RM3 billion and RM6 billion.

The high cost led the government to shelve the proposal as it was not seen as a priority due to its low competitiveness and lack of funds.

As recent as 2013, a China-based company Shandong Laigang Construction offered to finance and build the Labuan Integrated Entrepot and Labuan Bridge.

However, it was reported that the deal fell through because of security reasons.

According to Simsuddin, the people of Labuan desperately needed the bridge now because of the economic downturn on the island which was worsening.

“The bridge is now no longer a luxury but a necessity. Labuan’s economy is suffering. Shops are closed. Unemployment rate is among the highest in the country at 7.8%. Considering the total population on the island, that number is very high,” he said.

Not only that, Simsuddin said Labuan airport was an eerie place to be at the moment with very few travellers passing through the once vibrant airport.

The hospital in Labuan was also inadequate and many emergency cases had to be referred to hospitals in Kota Kinabalu.

“These people were forced to travel all the way to KK by ferry during emergency. That’s how dire our situation is right now,” he said.

A bridge, he said, would benefit Labuan’s tourism industry by encouraging people from mainland Sabah to drive to the island and shop in its many duty-free outlets.

At the same time, he said, Labuanites would also find it easier to travel to the mainland to find work instead of languishing on the island without a job and a living. -FMT