Two Sabah MPs urged the government today to award the Pan-Borneo highway contract through an open tender process.
 
The proposed highway across Sabah and Sarawak will cost a whopping RM27 billion and stretches 1,633km.
 
Kota Kinabalu MP Jimmy Wong Sze Phin and Sandakan MP Stephen Wong made the call after claiming that they had received information that West Malaysia-based companies UEM and MMC are expected to win the contract.
 
The two DAP parliamentarians also suggested that the companies given the job should be from Sabah.
 
"We do not want Sabah companies to pick up scraps from the table by being sub-contractors to Peninsular Malaysian companies that will reap most of the profits from the contract," Sze Phin said. 
 
The proposed highway was announced by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in his 2015 Budget speech last Friday.

'Sabah is country's poorest state'

The two MPs also said they would not accept it if the Peninsular Malaysian companies reap the profits from Sabah, which is the "poorest state" in Malaysia.

“We do not want the people of Sabah to pay toll for the rest of their lives, especially since Sabah is the country’s poorest state.”

They also urged Najib to halt any plans to award the project and also called for the costs and payments for the project to be revealed to the public.

“We hope the federal government will finance the entire Pan-Borneo highway project,” added Sze Phin ( left ) added.

The two MPs are not the first to express their concern over the highway project.

Yesterday, Umno MP Abdul Ghapur Salleh complained that the project has given detractors fodder to accuse Umno of robbing Sabah .

The Kalabakan MP also expressed dissatisfaction that the Sabah section of the highway would be handled by UEM and MMC.

Related stories

Hisham: Brother's deal not under my ministry

'Fishy' RM4bil loan at Finance Ministry firm

Ex-minister: 'Ali Baba' culture poisoning youths

'Wrong for gov't to use GST to cover debts'

Ku Li: OSA conceals thousands of sins

'Millions allocated but Sarawak roads still bad'

'BR1M in food stamps won't solve poverty'

Car prices should go down with GST