Govt yet to pay for maintenance work on River of Life, Khalid claims

Former Federal Territories minister Khalid Abdul Samad claimed that the government has yet to pay for maintenance works for the River of Life (ROL) project.

This is despite the allocations already being approved, he said.

“So I understand that the contractor has done the work, I have approved the maintenance payment, and they already have the approval for the payment, but until today they haven’t received it.

“So if the maintenance payment isn’t paid, how can we expect ROL to perform as they should?” he asked at Kampung Sungai Baru community hall in Kuala Lumpur.

He estimated that pending maintenance works could now cost between RM16 to RM20 million, due to some work requiring equipment imported from the US - meaning it is susceptible to the fluctuating ringgit.

Khalid claimed the delayed payments were partly due to neglect by the previous two administrations after Pakatan Harapan lost power in 2020.

Objectives not achieved

He also urged the government to thoroughly investigate the discrepancies within the multi-billion project to ensure that the ROL will be rolled out smoothly.

The ROL was the brainchild of former premier Najib Abdul Razak and sought to redevelop 10.7km of the Klang River in central Kuala Lumpur and clean up 110km of its upriver shoreline.

However, the Auditor-General’s Department report released this month found that no ROL objectives have been achieved, especially in improving the river’s quality for recreational purposes (Class IIB).

The report also mentioned that several projects had been delayed for over eight years, resulting in poor maintenance of project assets, leaving them neglected, damaged, and underutilised.

Despite this, the government said it would continue with the project.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa pointed out that despite not achieving 100 percent completion, two rivers - Klang and Gombak - have achieved their waterfront icon status, which comes with high economic value.

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