PROPOSE LABUAN BRIDGE IN ENIGMA?

FORMER Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad never fails to arouse Malaysian when it comes to bridges. From the controversial crooked bridge of Johore and now his about turn and insistence that Labuan does not need a bridge at all.

Sabah DAP Labuan Chief, Lau Seng Kiat said that Tun Mahathir has cheated Labuanites on the bridge who have time and again return BN candidates in every general elections. It is a 15-year wait for the people of Labuan.

In fact during his campaign trails, Tun Dr. Mahathir has been reported to promise to make Labuan the pearl of South China Sea. Unfortunately, until today Labuan continues to be a sleepy town.

Lau believe that failing to fulfill this promise may cause BN to lose its Labuan seat this coming 13th general election. By saying that the Labuan Bridge won't be any good to Labuan, Tun Mahathir has insulted the people of Labuan.

Sabah DAP KK Youth Chief Junz Wong who was raised in Labuan expressed regret over the statement made by Tun Mahathir concerning the promised bridge. Junz said Dr. Mahathir does not live in Labuan and his understand towards the feelings and needs of the people here is very slim, or he don’t really care about Labuan at all.

According to Lau, building a bridge to connect Labuan to the mainland is a must to boost the social economy of the region. The prices of general food and everyday necessities are extremely unreasonable in Labuan due to high transportation cost including the ferry charges. When this happens the extra cost is eventually passed down to the consuming raykat. With the gloomy economy, any extra cost will cause further hardships to the ordinary people.

Lau further added that Labuan needed this bridge because of the poor hospital service in the island. Many emergency cases have to be transferred to Kota Kinabalu due to the lack of medical experts and equipments. Sometimes they would have to wait up to 3 days before they could be transferred to the Kota kinabalu Specialist centres and QE Hospital. The bridge will make a difference between life and death. -Sabahkini