The Government should first address issues at hand where railway services is concerned before jumping into plans of starting new things, said Klias Assemblyman Datuk Isnin Aliasnih.

He said while he supports the government's proposed construction of a 175km rail service from Kota Kinabalu to Kudat, issues at hand should be resolved first.

"Why don't you replace the old carriage which was destroyed in a fire a while back before you start planning new things," he said when debating the government policy speech at the State Assembly, Wednesday.

Citing the Beaufort-Tenom railway, where the train is among the mode of daily transportation for residents, he said: "Carriages which date back to the 1960s and 1970s are still being used to serve the Kota Kinabalu-Beaufort route on a daily basis."

"It was sad to see our children who use the train as a mode of transportation to school, where at times the train would stall along the way," he said.

On another matter, he expressed dissatisfaction over the RM10 million allocated to repair three rundown schools in the State compared to the RM417 million allocated to the State for the same purpose of repairing dilapidated schools.

"A briefing by the State Education and Innovation Ministry not long ago stated that we need at least RM800 million for repair works on rundown schools in Sabah," he said.

"I am really disappointed as we are sidelined by our friends in Federal. I hope the State Government, through the State Education and Innovation Ministry, will push for more funds from our Federal counterparts," he said.

He said RM10 million is surely not enough as Sabah has more than three dilapidated schools in need of repairs and upgrades.

At this juncture, Kuamut Assemblyman Datuk Masiung Banah pointed out that while he agreed with Isnin that the State Government should go all out to ask for more funds to address the matter, Isnin should also do his part by pushing for more funds.