Sabahans, particularly in the rural areas, would not have any water and electricity supply problem by now if Mohd Shafie Apdal, as the rural and regional development minister then, had properly managed the infrastructure projects.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan in saying so, added that the former minister should not cover his own weaknesses by implicating others and diverting the people’s attention from the MACC’s investigation of him.

"He should not use parliamentary immunity to accuse Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman or other parties,” he told reporters in Kota Kinabalu today while commenting on the Parti Warisan Sabah president’s attempt to link the Sungai Intan water treatment plant project in Semporna, which is being investigated by MACC, with Musa.

Rahman said the ministry then under Shafie did not let the state government know about its plans in Sabah, prompting the chief minister to raise the matter with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the federal leadership.

"This matter has become so obvious not because he (Shafie) was being investigated, but because many people have been questioning the ministry’s projects during his time. If the ministry had been functioning well then, there would not be any problem of water or electricity supply by now,” he said.

Shafie was earlier remanded for seven days to assist MACC investigations into alleged misappropriation of rural development funds involving RM1.5 billion.

The Semporna member of parliament was released on an RM80,000 deposited bail of RM100,000 with two local sureties.

-- Bernama