The Pan Borneo Highway contractor is urged to consult the people in Kampung Kolopis before starting construction works of the road there.

Kampung Kolopis residents are worried that their long-standing flood problems will worsen following rumours that the Pan Borneo Highway project will cut through their village.

"We are not against the project, but the contractor needs to be aware of the fact that Kolopis is a flood-prone area and because of that, the road construction will cost the contractor a huge sum of money as it will have to incorporate flood mitigation into the design", said Kolopis Pan Borneo Highway Action Committee chairman Datuk John Maluda.

He pointed out that there was no consultation with the villagers in Kampung Kolopis by Borneo Highway PDP Sdn Bhd and the site inspection was done only after the committee had told them how bad floods could get in the area.

Villagers fear that a significant length of the proposed Pan Borneo Highway route in the village would likely cause future flood levels to rise more than 20 feet.

They also expressed concern that the highway would split the close-knit community from seven villages within Kg Kolopis whose population is estimated to be about 2,500 people.

Unfortunately, villagers had been told that 80 per cent of the plan to construct the highway across the valley in their village had been decided.

According to Penampang Barisan Nasional Chairman Datuk Donald Peter Mojuntin, soon after learning that the highway route will cut through their village, members of the action committee went to meet with the Pan Borneo Highway Project Delivery Partner (PDP) Managing Director-cum-Chief Operation Officer Ir Shahelmey Yahya to express their concern.

Following the meeting, villagers said a group of 12 people comprising PDP representatives and their consultants came to the village and were shown the critical flood-prone locations.