Rural and Regional Development minister, Mohd Shafie Apdal is confident that by 2015, Sabah and Sarawak would achieve their 95 percent infrastructure target, in particular roads, through the National Key Result Area (NKRA), under the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) 2.0.        

"If we compare our objective under the NKRA and what we've achieved so far, there are more than 1,700 kilometres of roads nationwide. Our initial target (GTP 1) was only 1,500 km," he told reporters at the Aidilfitri open house hosted by Papar Umno Youth chief, Armizan Md Ali, at his home in Luyang, near Kota Kinabalu last night.          

Shafie was commenting on Minister in Prime Minister's Department, Seri Idris Jala's recent statement that a 95 percent rural infrastructure target for Sabah had been set under the NKRA, covering roads, water and electricity supply.         

He also expressed confidence that the ministry would receive sufficient allocations to successfully complete the GTP 2.0 mission, related to rural development in particular.       

"I've raised the matter that rural areas in the country, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, still need financial assistance to ensure the villages are accessible by road," he said.       

So far, almost 96 percent of Peninsular Malaysia is accessible by road, whereas the percentage in Sabah and Sarawak has exceeded 70 percent, with 60 percent benefiting from water and electricity, he concluded.           

- Bernama