Kota Kinabalu: Putatan MP Datuk Shahelmey Yahya hopes the Federal Government will be able to provide a fair and formulaic financial allocation to Sabah.
This, he said, is needed to overcome the problems of education, health and infrastructure facilities in Sabah.
“According to the State Education Department’s records, in 2022, there are 1,071 primary schools and 221 secondary schools in Sabah,” he said in his debate speech on the royal address, at the Dewan Rakyat, in Kuala Lumpur, Tuesday.
“Of the number of schools, there are at least 54.5 per cent of them are considered to be in poor and dilapidated condition and need immediate repair and maintenance work.
“SK Tansau is one of the schools in the Putatan parliament constituency. There is a two-storey concrete building block in this school which houses the teaching and learning classes of students.
“This building block has been declared unsafe by the Public Works Department twice in 2015 and 2022.”
This report, he said, has been sent to the Education Ministry as well as the State Education Department.
“However, until now no action or repair work has been carried out. This forced the students to use the other dilapidated wooden building blocks,” he said.
He added, until last year, there are 23 schools in Sabah that have to operate by “squatting” at other schools.
On health, he said, the health services in the State still in the old level based on the facilities and medical experts.
“There are 112 health clinics that are currently in operation in Sabah, but 95 of them or 84.8 per cent are dilapidated and in poor condition.
“Even more saddening, there are still many clinics that do not have Internet facilities which makes it difficult for them to function efficiently.”
He also said as much as 70 per cent of the equipment in Sabah hospitals is over 10 years old or “beyond economic repair”.
“The lifespan of medical machines should not exceed 10 years in line with the progress of medical technology.
“This problem is compounded by the lack of human resources for health services in Sabah.
“There is a vacancy of about 8.82 per cent which is 2,494 out of 28,274 workforces that should be filled.
“In 2022, the national estimated target for the doctor to population ratio was 1:425. However, for us, in Sabah, the ratio was 1:872,” he said.
“The economic impact and spill-over of this highway will drive development in Sabah and connect cities in the State comfortably and safely.
“In addition to that, as mentioned by Ranau Member of Parliament previously, there is also an urgent need for maintenance works on federal roads that are potholed and beyond their design life.
“Therefore, we request that consideration for development that suits Sabah to be given a priority,” he said.
— Ricardo Unto