Malaysian PM Admits Losing to Indonesia in Border Infrastructure Development
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim admitted that Malaysia was late in building and improving facilities along the Malaysian and Indonesian borders in Kalimantan, including immigration, customs, quarantine and security offices.
"I agree we are behind schedule when compared to Indonesia which is already advanced (with its border infrastructure)," said Anwar during Prime Minister's Questions (PMQ) at the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur, Tuesday, October 10 2023, as quoted from FMT. “Their immigration complex, customs, quarantine and security (ICQS), and customs and immigration offices are much better compared to ours, because we are quite late.” Anwar said the relevant ministries had been asked to speed up the construction of these facilities. He was responding to Jeffrey Kitingan (GRS-Keningau), who told the lower house that the RM1 billion or IDR 3.3 trillion allocation had not been disbursed in full, causing delays in construction and upgrade work.
Putrajaya in January approved additional funding of RM1 billion to upgrade and build better infrastructure along the border. Anwar said further action depended on the relevant ministries and state governments. “But I want to emphasize that RM1 billion (allocated) this year. "(Therefore) the (relevant) ministries have been instructed to speed up (the work)," he said. He also said he had asked Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof to help facilitate affairs in Sabah and Sarawak, especially regarding the development of the Pan Borneo Highway project and the allocation of RM1 billion for border infrastructure.
ANTARA News
