KUALA LUMPUR: The Finance Ministry has never issued any directive to cancel rural road projects, only deferred new contracts to prevent outstanding payments to contractors from continuing to accumulate, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
The Prime Minister’s senior political adviser said the deferment was necessary following rural road development expenditure exceeding the original allocations approved by Parliament annually since 2022, resulting in increased contractual commitments and outstanding payments to contractors.
"The deferment of new contracts does not mean existing projects have been cancelled. These are two different things.
“That is why the country's finances must be managed prudently, not merely by approving projects but also by ensuring sufficient allocations are available to pay for them," he said in a video on Friday (Oct 30).
Tengku Zafrul said claims that rural road allocations, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak, had been deliberately reduced should be assessed based on the government's actual expenditure figures for the period concerned.
He said rural road expenditure for the 2023-2027 period, including allocations for this year and next year, had increased to RM11bil compared with RM3.7bil for the 2018-2022 period, representing almost a threefold increase.
"In Sabah and Sarawak alone, actual rural road expenditure this year reached RM1.41bil, the highest in the past 10 years.
"Since 2023, RM4.6bil has been spent. Every year, approximately half of the country's total rural road expenditure is channelled to Sabah and Sarawak. Sabah and Sarawak have not been sidelined. Sabah and Sarawak have been given priority," he said.
Tengku Zafrul also explained that the Finance Ministry had to balance the allocation needs of all ministries, including those responsible for health, education and rural development, to ensure the government's financial commitments could be met.
He said when a ministry made spending commitments that exceeded its approved allocation, the Finance Ministry had to seek additional financial resources to meet those requirements.
In this regard, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had approved an additional RM500mil in expenditure for 2026, using savings from the development allocations of other ministries, to enable outstanding payments to contractors to be settled.
He a;sp said the government understood that many villages in Sabah and Sarawak were still waiting for better road facilities.
As such, Budget 2027 provides RM2.27 billion for rural road development, while RM34.9 billion has been allocated to Sabah and Sarawak, the highest amount among all states.
He also reminded all parties that development issues in the two states should not be used as political ammunition.
"As the Prime Minister has stressed, allocations alone are not enough without good governance. What matters is that projects are implemented, contractors are paid, and the people benefit. That is our priority," he said. – Bernama
