Accident-prone roads first as Sabah gets RM17.9m for street light fixes

KOTA KINABALU, April 30 — The allocation for the maintenance and repair of street lights along federal roads in Sabah has been increased to RM17.9 million this year, from RM8 million annually in 2024 and 2025, said State Assistant Minister of Works and Utilities Datuk Limus Jury.

He said the increased allocation reflected the government’s continued commitment to addressing the issue of faulty street lights in the state.

“Maintenance and repair works are carried out in stages, with priority given to accident-prone areas, poorly lit stretches affecting road users’ visibility, and areas identified through verified public complaints.

“Street lights on federal roads are federal government assets and their maintenance is fully funded through federal allocations,” he said in reply to a question from Justin Wong Yung Bin (Warisan-Sri Tanjong) on the allocation for street light maintenance on federal roads in Sabah at the State Legislative Assembly sitting here today.

In response to Wong’s supplementary question on the amount of allocation to be channelled to Tawau, Limus said the distribution of funds was not determined by district, but based on the level of damage and current needs in each area.

In a related development, Limus said street lights along the road from Berungis, Tuaran to Tamparuli Bridge are frequently found to be malfunctioning, partly due to repeated incidents of cable theft at several locations along the route, which have affected the power supply to the street lighting system.

He said the government, through the Sabah Public Works Department, had taken immediate action, including inspections, temporary repairs, replacement of damaged components and regular monitoring at the affected locations.

Limus said long-term measures were also being considered, including safer and enhanced cable protection systems, as well as improvements to system design to reduce the risk of theft in future. — Bernama