Two pressing road infrastructure gaps in Opar constituency are holding back an entire rural community from enjoying the fruits of development.
Opar assemblyman Billy Sujang raised the need for a new access road linking to the newly completed Selampit bridge, estimated to cost RM22 million by the Public Works Department.
“Without a proper access road, the bridge project remains incomplete, and its socioeconomic impact is severely limited,” he said.
He said this in his debate on the motion of appreciation for the address by Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar today.
He described the access road not merely as a physical path, but as “the lifeblood of the people” — one that opens economic opportunities, eases daily movement, hastens access to schools and clinics, and catalyses rural growth.
On the same note, Billy raised concern over the deteriorating condition of the Bitokan-Selampit road, a six-kilometre stretch off the Pan Borneo Highway that serves as the main artery linking six villages — Kampung Selampit 1 and 2, Kampung Perian, Kampung Bitokan 1 and 2, and Kampung Kendaie — with a combined population of roughly 3,500 residents.
“The existing road is dangerously narrow, frequently submerged by up to three feet of floodwater during the monsoon season, and wholly inadequate to handle the increased traffic that the new bridge is expected to attract,” he said.
Emergency services and daily commuters alike are affected while local economic activity suffers each time the road is cut off.
Billy urged for the road to be widened to R3 standard, with improved drainage, flood mitigation works, slope protection, and road safety fixtures — a comprehensive upgrade he priced at RM55 million.
He said the investment as not just justified, but essential for the sustainable development of the rural hinterland.
Together, both projects would require a combined outlay of approximately RM77 million — a sum the assemblyman said is warranted given the scale of the communities affected and the long-term economic potential of the area once proper infrastructure is in place.
Calling on the government to classify the access road funding under the Projek Rakyat initiative, Billy expressed confidence that complete and well-planned infrastructure would transform the Selampit area into a more competitive and economically vibrant zone.
“Development planned without proper roads will only ever be half-finished,” he said.
