The future lies in securing parallel development in all logistics projects
'You have it, I must have it too' seems an unfair quote. However, situationally it does make sense especially if it counts for the nation's social integration as the pillar to nation building. It would in fact be a reasonable proposition for Sabah to ask for the very same type of projects that West Malaysia is having, because the rationale is the same in respect of and as impetus to economic development. The difference would be in the size and scope. It is especially true for Sabah because of its dependence on tourism, transportation is a critical basic necessity for us to move forward and be successful in it. With it too comes the boosting of economic activities in other major sectors such as the manufacturing and our agro-based industry.
West Malaysia's logistics towards the future
Everything is happening in West Malaysia. The development in all sectors are taking place in West Malaysia. We watch in awe as one by one mega projects are launched and completed. We talk good things about it as Malaysian should. We are proud that it is happening in Malaysia. It doesn’t matter where you are, in Perlis, Sabah or Sarawak, we are all proud especially when talking to non Malaysian. We are promoting our nation to be one which is not left behind by other nation in the development of the transport and logistics scene. Not only that the projects are game changers but its costs and value are mind boggling.
The Highways
The motorway in the United Kingdom and the North South (PLUS) Highway were game changers for the economy of the United Kingdom and also West Malaysia. In the eighties when this was mooted and implemented, it creates big impact on people and goods movement from north to south and from east to west. It cuts travel time. It injected spurts of development along the highways. It is transformation time. Wow, this is great news indeed especially for the logistics industry in all fronts, from road development to trucking businesses and express buses. It spurs tourism allowing travels to many places where time was an obstacle before.
This is one project which we should have it earlier when the PLUS Highway was implemented not withstanding that we now have the Pan Borneo Highway (PBH) in progress. The point we are making here is that such scale of project should have been implemented at the same time here in Sabah as well but perhaps in a very small scale linking maybe two short distance places which in itself would count for a scalable game changing impact in the affected area. We do take note that the government never stopped road development projects, in fact so many good roads have been completed over the years but it was never in the scale of the PBH project on a per kilometre basis.
The ports
The scale of development in the port industries in West Malaysia is beyond comprehension where there are major developments taking place in all the major ports there, from Kemaman Industrial Port to, Kuantan, Johor, Pelepas, Port Kelang and Penang have all undergone major expansion in their own rights. However nothing comes near to development that goes on in Port of Tg. Pelepas, and the two ports in Kelang that is North Port and West Port. The three ports accounts for the major tonnages handled by all ports in Malaysia in terms of containers handled. The development that took place in the three ports are huge in order to accommodate big vessels. Port of Tanjung Pelepas for example places 18 new gantry cranes orders in readiness for the completion of new wharf development. This way no delays occur as equipment orders are made and delivered on completion of the project.
Although Sabah Ports only lately received grants from the Federal government to the tune of RM1.1 billion, still this amount is only the first that it received from the federal government for a long time even then it is not a holistic sum as Sabah Ports has to find their own financing to come up with its wharf and yard equipment.
This should be the way development should take place in Sabah where logistics projects such as port development must also be made available to Sabah in order for it to push through the market and help to develop its manufacturing industry by making available platforms for goods to be exported. The value may not be comparable to what the West Malaysian ports are getting but there must be grants to be given for port development programmes. It should not be a case of not being a federal port that Sabah port being a state port has to find its own money to finance its projects.
High Speed Train
The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) is a strategic project between the Governments of Malaysia and Singapore that aims to facilitate seamless travel between the two capital cities, enhance business linkages, and connect the peoples of both countries closer together. With terminus stations in Kuala Lumpur's Bandar Malaysia and Singapore's Jurong East, the HSR link is expected to cut the travel time between the two cities to 90 minutes.
We asked ourselves if there was any similar project that Sabah should have. This might be too advance for Sabah, but spare a thought to the present Sabah State Railway. It looks like this is very much a social development programme that was inherited from the colonial days. But let it be there although not money making for now but as the impetus to economic development in the interior and as the neucleus for future expansion. Nonetheless we are not asking for a high speed rail, but at worst there should be conscious efforts in upgrading the lines and tracks that we have from the station near Sabah College to Tenom. The future plan is to double track where possible for now, at least from Tg Aru to Beaufort and let further development take root from there.
We made a mistake in pulling out the the rail track that connects to the old port at Jesselton point. This must be due to inability to see the future by not benchmarking on what western countries had transformed their trains into as a system for mass transportation in the urban areas. This line must be reinstated.
East Coast Rail Links
The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is being touted as an economic “game changer” for the country. The 600-kilometer electrified line will connect Kuala Lumpur with Kelantan through the rural states of Pahang and Terengganu, cutting traveling time to as little as four hours and easing pressure on the road network by getting more people and cargo onto trains. There are also plans to extend the line west to Port Klang, Malaysia’s busiest port.
The government says the 55-billion-ringgit ($12.8 billion) project which has been launched recently is expected to be ready for use in 2024. It will boost trade and tourism and close the development gap between the country’s west and east coasts. Some seven passenger trains each day are expected to leave Kuala Lumpur to make the journey east, with cargo trains projected to carry 37 million tonnes a year of containers, iron ore, coal and other commodities by 2030.
It is interesting to note that this ECRL will connect to Kuantan port in the eastern coast of West Malaysian which is currently being expanded with billion ringgit investment in partnership with China investors. The sea linkage will connect with the ECRL to Port Kelang thus providing a through transport service avoiding the need for some cargoes not to be shipped directly to Port Kelang. Some may see it as a competitor to Sapangar Bay Container Port (SBCP) but I opine that SBCP's strategic location provides it with its own niche market as a regional hub. It has its own charm, we must believe in it.
What do we have in store for Sabah. This is the time to start planning our own cross country line from West coast to the East.
Sabah's logistics pride
What is our logistics pride. Presently it’s a definite yes for the Pan Borneo Highway, we are slowly getting into line of what West Malaysia has. Better late than never. However the point is from now we should be moving in tandem to what is taking place in the west. We should never be left behind, As stated above, never mind the scope, we can go smaller but we need to have it because that’s what is needed as a tool for economic development.
A much needed solution to boost nation building
A country's need in building a nation based on unity in diversity, calls for a basic provision to be had by communities in all the states in the country. The idea is to make people happy with what they have. This will pave the way for national integration for the good of our future. Logistically this is translated to be that basic logistics infrastructure must be in place parallel to what big brother has. Again it must be stated here that it is not to be a "quid pro quo" situation but a situation which regional development, especially with Sabah and Sarawak separated by big stretch of a distance over the South China Sea, must take place so that a worthy development that uplifts the standard of living of the region is made available. This means we must have good roads, we must have good public transportation system which is not totally dependent on buses, we must have alternatives to road transport, transport mode in the like of a light rail mass transit system, good airports and good transport system that can carry goods all over Sabah cheaply.
How would this be implemented
The idea is that we must ask for it at the earliest possible time. The earliest possible time to act is in parallel with what West Malaysia is having or going to have. It must be stated that the rationale is common to wherever it is built. It is an eco-socio-political reasoning to benefit the region. We are not going to ask for the sky but something that can provide the basics for logistics to be in place and to prosper for the future. Making it late might be too prohibitive in cost for its future implementation. Have the basic infrastructure ready as the nucleus for the future. Have it small, implementable but ready for the future.
A good example would be to put back track the rail line to Kota Kinabalu city as what we had before. The future would be an extension to the north towards Sapangar, or the east to Penampang. We cannot forever be assumptive of the excuse that we do not have the population to sustain it. A subsidy if needed must be directed to where it is of critical necessity. A commuter line is needed as an alternative to road transport. It is dangerous not to have alternative as the road system is a trap in itself looking at the flood situation in the state today.
Trap in the making
If Sabah does not request that parallel logistics development be had, where do you think Sabah's development be in the future? Noting that we do not have super highways compared to West, we do not have LRT's (Light Rail transit), nor do we have high speed trains, and what more rail lines that traverses through our interiors to help open our our back yard industries.
If we don’t ask for it, even in the minutest of scope, when would we have them? Is it the case that we will forever be relying on public urban buses scheme, It has always been the excuse that we do not have the population or the volume of goods for these to be had. Would it be 20 years down the line that we would be given say the LRT.
These situation will slow us down in our development effort, it will stunt growth and the impetus and motivation to move forward and create the hives of economic activities that will further support other industries to grow.
How would Sabah be without these transport technology as a tool to boost our economy. Will we ever be transformed as a developed state by relying on urban rapid transit buses to ferry passengers including tourist. Population will be increasing, may be not as fast now but it will hog the road system. It is fair assumption that traffic congestion will be on the increase measured every five years. How far can we expand our urban roads, how much of viaducts and flyovers do we need to build. Perhaps its development cost then would be too prohibitive. This is where the rationale of having a system planned early and constructed early is to avoid the future prohibitive cost catching us. Let us learn from the first two flyovers that was built in Kota Kinabalu, where last year suddenly we see flurry of flyovers are being built and good that it is in the process of being completed. By the look of things we are set to build more flyovers, but these are partial and temporary sectoral solutions. Once we cross over and join the highways, traffic congestion will await us before we move on to another flyovers. These road expansions will have to slowdown somehow with the introduction of other mode of transport like the light rail which is not dependent on the road system.
This is in fact a trap that we are building ourselves into, if we don’t start early, even in its smallest of scale. It might just be too costly for us to build them later. It is a critical transport problem as dependent on the road system alone as a means of public conveyance may cause a standstill to the transport system and affect the economy.
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