He said he had received several reports on the bad road which is dangerous to drive on.

“At the end of October last year, Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan had announced that a sum of RM80 million had been approved to construct the portion of the road from Long Lupeng up to the border which would be integrated into the SSLR (Sarawak-Sabah Link Road),” he said in a statement yesterday.

According to Baru, the damaged road forms part of this stretch mentioned by the deputy premier.

He said Awang Tengah acknowledged the fact that the Ba Kelalan area is very strategic, being on the border with the neighbouring country.

“He acknowledged ‘apart from having great potential to increase the marketing aspect of agricultural products and eco-tourism’, the road would help facilitate the provision of electricity and clean water supply for rural and inland areas, as well as telecommunication tower infrastructure.

“Having recognised the importance of this road connectivity, the deputy premier should direct that work on this road must commence without delay,” he stressed.

He said the Lawas MP who had accompanied Awang Tengah on his visit to the area should also take this matter up with the Deputy Prime Minister and Works Minister, and urge that there should be no impediment to the commencement of this project.

Baru asserted that this portion of the road is crucial as the Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security (CIQS) complex is being built at the end of the road which meets the Indonesian border.

He said the CIQS complex has been diagnosed as a sick project, and also needs the attention of the deputy premier, Lawas MP and Works Minister to ensure that it is completed without further delay by a competent contractor.

“From the attached photos, it is clear that the road needs urgent attention and repair. Puneng Kelalan residents are the ones who have to use this road daily, and are finding it extremely stressful on themselves and also damaging to their vehicles.

“Now that the MP for Lawas and the Works Minister are with the unity government at federal level and PBB (Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu) is the backbone in the GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) state government, surely this matter can be resolved, especially when an announcement for the construction of this part of the road was announced by the deputy premier and the Lawas MP when he was a deputy federal minister,” Baru added.