Open up Sabah-Kalimantan borders, says academician

 

The finance ministry had approved an additional RM1 billion for upgrading projects and constructing better infrastructure along the border separating Sarawak and Sabah from Kalimantan. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Places along the border between Kalimantan, Indonesia, and the state of Sabah must be opened to ensure Malaysia benefits from the development of Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara, an academician said.

Kasim Mansor, vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), lamented that the potential border sites between Sabah and Kalimantan were underdeveloped.

“When visiting the potential border sites, I had to use a modified four-wheel drive to reach the border from Kalabakan district to Simenggaris. Using an ordinary four-wheel drive is difficult (to navigate the terrain).”

Kasim, who was speaking as a panellist at the National Peace Conference organised by Iman Research, said when his group reached the border, they found that Indonesia had already built highways on its side.

Despite only being 5km away from Kalabakan, he said, the journey took four hours of traversing through the jungle.

“I can conclude that we (Malaysia) are not ready, but Indonesia is ready.”

Referring to the impending establishment of Nusantara, Indonesia’s new capital in Kalimantan, he said: “We want to feel the multiplier effect once the relocation of Indonesia’s capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara takes place.”

He said opening the borders was necessary to achieve the multiplier effect.

“Open the borders, set up Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complexes, and have our security stations in these areas, then only Sabah and Sarawak will benefit from the economic impact,” Kasim said.

On Feb 27, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said that in preparation for Indonesia’s new capital, the government would focus on, among other things, upgrading the CIQ complexes along the main border between Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan.

The finance ministry had previously approved an additional RM1 billion for upgrading projects and constructing better infrastructure along the 1,881km border separating Sarawak and Sabah from Kalimantan.

Citing Sarawak as an example, he said the region had been exporting electricity to West Kalimantan for several years and that it had been entrusted to construct a hydroelectric dam in Indonesia.

Fadillah had also suggested that Malaysia and Indonesia develop a railway network at the border of Sarawak and Kalimantan to transport goods from Kalimantan to Bintulu. - FMT