By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: There is no point in discussing educational reform if access to education in Sabah remained physically unsafe, said former Sabah Education senior assistant director Tham Yun Fook.
The teacher-turned-Likas assemblyman said the suspected brake failure involving a train on the Tenom–Pangi route yesterday should not be dismissed as a routine mechanical malfunction.
He added that communities in Tenom and Pangi continue to rely heavily on the ageing railway line as their primary mode of transport.
"A single technical failure had the potential to endanger teachers, students and families. That reality alone demanded urgent policy recalibration.
"We were relieved that no lives were lost. But governance cannot depend on relief and luck. Public safety must be guaranteed through planning, investment and accountability.
"When access to education is physically unsafe, discussions about educational reform, excellence and competitiveness lose credibility. Infrastructure inequality inevitably produces educational inequality," he told the NST.
Tham was commenting on yesterday's train incident, which involved school teachers travelling to Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Pangi in Tenom.
The old locomotive was brought to a halt when villagers sacrificed six motorcycles on the railway track.
As of press time, more than 24 hours later, there had been no response from the Sabah Development, Entrepreneurship, and Transport Ministry regarding the incident.
NST had contacted the Sabah Education Department to obtain details about affected teachers, students and schooling sessions, but received no reply.
Tham said the hazardous mode of transport was not the only barrier to equal education. Students in rural areas also had to cross unsafe suspension bridges, navigate rivers on makeshift rafts, or walk through overgrown forest paths simply to reach school.
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