KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will investigate the management, financial governance and physical implementation of the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway Phase 1 project.
PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said the decision followed concerns raised in the Auditor-General’s Report 2/2026 over project delays, spending and governance.
The 706km project involves 35 work packages and was originally due for completion by the end of 2021.
However, only four packages, or 11.4% of the total, have been fully completed, while the remaining 31 packages worth RM16.319bil are still being carried out.
Nine of the packages are classified as sick projects, while 13 are behind schedule.
Mas Ermieyati said RM10.547bil, or 94.6% of the RM11.153bil allocated for the project between 2016 and March 31 this year, had been spent.
“The PAC questions whether the existing monitoring system was justified in approving project payments when physical progress on the ground did not match the amount of public funds spent,” she said in a press conference on Monday (Oct 19).
The project is now expected to be completed by 2030, while its overall contract cost has risen from RM17.910bil to RM18.394bil.
The Auditor-General’s Report also highlighted 57 variation orders worth RM513.99mil that were approved beyond authorised limits without the approval of the Treasury secretary-general or the Works Ministry procurement board.
Other issues included interim payments of RM163.64mil to contractors and consultants without formal contracts, and RM41.37mil in government advances for utility works that had yet to be recovered from utility companies.
The audit also found that works on 19 packages began before environmental impact assessment reports were approved, while 77,299 project monitoring data files were lost due to weaknesses in the project information system.
She said the PAC would call witnesses from the Works Ministry, the Public Works Department, including the Sabah Public Works Department, and other relevant agencies.
She said any indication of misconduct, corruption or abuse of power found during the proceedings would be referred to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and police for further investigation.
The PAC also noted a statement by Sabah Deputy Chief Minister I and Works Minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam that some unfinished sections had recorded physical progress of between 90% and 93%.
Eight packages involving 179km are proposed to be opened in stages before the end of the year.
