KINABATANGAN: Kinabatangan, a district located in the east of Sabah, about 329 kilometres from Kota Kinabalu, is indeed rich in its own uniqueness and special features, especially in eco-tourism.

With an area covering 7,542 sq kilometres, It is also a haven for domestic and international tourists to see wildlife such as Borneo elephants, proboscis monkeys and Orang Utans along the Kinabatangan River, the second longest river in Malaysia.

The Kinabatangan parliamentary constituency has 44,773 registered voters and it covers three state seats of Kuamut, Lamag and Sukau.

Many basic infrastructures have been developed in the main towns of this district such as mosques, hospitals, health clinics, public libraries, courts, public markets, postal services, banking facilities and commercial buildings to further stimulate the socio-economic development of the local population.

However, the people of Kinabatangan are hoping to see holistic development in Kinabatangan, including efforts to improve the quality of life through the provision of job opportunities and home ownership under the People's Housing Programme (PPR).



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Private college student Siti Nuraisyah Ali Omar, 20, from Kampung Suan Lamba said, the issue of PPR house ownership among people especially from the lower-income group in the district needs to be dealt with seriously as there are still many people in Kinabatangan who need housing assistance.

"Many (residents) do not have their own homes and are staying with their families or rented houses," she told Bernama.

A trader, Faizal Amir, 30, from Kampung Sinar Jaya thinks that public housing projects are still lacking and they need to be increased in Kinabatangan in an effort to meet the needs of residents who want a more comfortable home.

In line with that hope, a housewife Maslina Palal, 43, from Kampung Danau Ria hopes that there will be no 'discrimination' or red tape to apply for houses because she had applied for PPR many times and still failed.

However, Maslina admitted that there were changes in Kinabatangan, as towns in the district are becoming more vibrant with new commercial centres for the convenience of residents to get daily necessities.



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Cake shop cashier Farah Afirah Roslan, 22, from Kampung Bukit Garam thinks it's time more investors are brought into Kinabatangan based on the potential of the district to create more job opportunities thus reducing the youth unemployment rate.

"There are employment opportunities in Kinabatangan but they are still very limited, thus pushing the youth to migrate to Kuala Lumpur or Kota Kinabalu. Therefore, it would be good if more job opportunities were provided here for young people," she said.

Regarding roads here, a sales assistant Nurhidayah Amir, 18, from Kampung Jaya Baru said they are in poor condition and badly need maintenance.

The same view was also voiced by Siti Nuraisyah and Farah Afirah who thought that road maintenance in Kinabatangan should be improved apart from ensuring clean water and electricity supply for all villagers.

The 15th general election (GE15) is seeing a straight fight for the Kinabatangan parliamentary seat between Sabah Barisan National chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin who has held the seat for five terms since 1999, and Parti Warisan candidate Mazliwati Abd Malek.

In GE14, Bung Moktar won with a majority of 9,478 votes defeating Ghazali Abdul Ghani from Warisan and Mustapa Datu Tambuyong (Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah).

-- BERNAMA