KOTA KINABALU: Warisan has rejected accusations of shifting blame over the Pan Borneo Highway, saying the federal Cabinet made the decision to terminate its delivery agreement.
Parti Warisan deputy president Darell Leiking said he had never denied that party president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal recommended ending the Project Delivery Partner (PDP) model in 2019, or that the then Sabah Cabinet supported the proposal.
However, he stressed that recommending the termination and having the authority to carry it out were two separate matters.
Leiking was responding to Sabah DAP publicity secretary Thien Ee Hang, who accused him of selectively recounting the cancellation of the PDP model while omitting Shafie's involvement in initiating the proposal.
"Thien's argument creates a false choice: acknowledging Shafie's recommendation does not erase the separate, collective responsibility of the federal Cabinet that formally made and implemented the termination decision," he said in a statement on Monday (Oct 26).
Thien had argued that Shafie himself acknowledged in Parliament in October 2019 that he personally recommended scrapping the model to the Federal leadership at the time.
He also questioned why Leiking was directing criticism at former finance minister Lim Guan Eng while failing to acknowledge Shafie's role.
Leiking said the recommendation to end the PDP arrangement was supported by the Warisan Plus state government, including ministers from outside Warisan.
"Pan Borneo is a federal project. The decision to terminate the PDP agreement under the national-interest provision was made by the federal government," he said.
Leiking, who was also a federal Cabinet member at the time, said he accepted responsibility for the decision.
He said the same should be acknowledged by other Cabinet members, including Lim, who publicly announced the termination, and then Works Minister Baru Bian.
Leiking also rejected suggestions that ending the PDP model amounted to cancelling the highway project.
He said construction continued under a conventional Federal implementation model, with the Works Ministry taking over while existing work-package contractors and consultants were retained, subject to the relevant contractual arrangements.
He also pointed out that the highway project was already substantially behind schedule before the PDP agreement was terminated in September 2019.
Citing official parliamentary records, he said actual progress stood at 21.3% against the scheduled 44.4% at the time of termination.
Earlier figures showed progress of 6% against a target of 10% in May 2018, and 15% against 29% in April 2019.
"These figures matter. They show that the project was already substantially behind schedule before the PDP agreement was terminated," he said.
Leiking said subsequent delays could not be attributed solely to the 2019 decision, given other factors including land acquisition, utility relocation, site readiness, planning, contractor performance and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Leiking said Warisan was prepared to account for its period in government, but those now in power should explain why the highway remained unfinished.
"After six full years in office, GRS as the Sabah government and the present federal government must answer Sabahans plainly: why is Pan Borneo still unfinished, and when will the people finally receive the highway they were promised?" he said.
