Royal visit to Sabah should inspire govt leaders to visit, learn, says Karamunting rep

KOTA KINABALU: The King and Queen’s visit to Sabah as well as His Majesty’s willingness to drive around the state, should be emulated by ministers, says Karamunting assemblyman George Hiew Vun Zin.

He said Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah’s willingness to go behind the wheel himself shows a strong urge to want to understand the real situation on the ground.

“Our leaders and federal ministers should learn from the King, and come experience for themselves how people in Sabah are living with (a lot of) basic infrastructure still in bad shape.

“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah started their Borneo tour journey in Tawau, then Lahad Datu and Sandakan before heading off to other districts,” Hiew said in a statement on Thursday (Sept 7).

He managed to meet up with the royal entourage in Sandakan in a closed event on Monday (Sept 4).

Hiew said he saw that throughout the King’s tour, many Sabahans including people in Sandakan waited hours just to get a glimpse of Their Majesties.

“Many also took the opportunity to share about the terrible road conditions to the King, among other matters,” he added.

He said although some roads were patched up and repaired to welcome the King’s visit, there were other stretches still in dire need of repair.

He said the quality of infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity supply are key to development in an area, as such matters affect investments and tourism in that locality, as well as Sabah in general.

On behalf of the people of Sandakan, Hiew took the opportunity to thank the Royal couple for taking time and effort to drive around the state, to understand the problems faced by the people and to greet those they met along the way.

“We hope the King’s visit to Sabah would help change the quality of infrastructure in many areas of the state,” he said.

Throughout the road tour, many people took to social media to share their experiences meeting with the Royal entourage.

Some shared that they managed to take selfies with the King and shared videos of the Queen dancing the Sumazau, purchasing foodstuff from local markets known as “tamu”.

There were also moments when wrong salutations were given to Their Majesties while people unfamiliar with protocol behaved in an informal manner, but the Royal entourage took it all in their stride.

Their Majesties’ Kembara Kenali Borneo tour, from Sept 3 to 13, started in Tawau, Sabah and will end in Telok Melano, Sarawak.

It involves a distance of 2,154km via the Pan Borneo Highway which connects Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei, and is an opportunity for the people of both states to meet the Royal couple and their entourage.