PM admits 'no reason' for Sabah's Pan Borneo 'failure' compared to S'wak

PARLIAMENT | Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has acknowledged shortcomings in Sabah’s infrastructure delivery, conceding that contract distribution practices had hampered progress compared to Sarawak.

Responding to Ronald Kiandee (PN-Beluran), who highlighted the disparity in Pan Borneo Highway implementation between the two states, Anwar said it was unacceptable that projects approved at the same time had achieved near-completion in Sarawak but stalled in Sabah.

“It is true that in Sabah, the issues of water, pothole-ridden roads and the Pan Borneo Highway are our priorities. The projects were approved eight to 10 years ago.

"In Sarawak, they were implemented and succeeded, reaching 97 to 98 percent. But this did not happen in Sabah,” Anwar, who is also finance minister, told the Dewan Rakyat.

The Tambun MP attributed the delays to what he described as a “problematic” system of awarding contracts in Sabah.

“We inherited a system of contract distribution that was very problematic. That is why over the past two years, we insisted that all tender processes must be more transparent.

"No more excuses about local or state companies. Any company capable of doing the job can take part, including big firms, on the condition that smaller projects are distributed to state companies,” he said.

Contract cancellations, retendering

Anwar pointed out that, despite the stricter conditions imposed by the Sabah government over the past seven to eight years to involve local firms, implementation has remained weak.

“Many projects had to be cancelled, with contracts extended two or three times. I cancelled them so we could retender through open bidding,” he added.

Anwar also conceded Kiandee’s criticism, stressing that there was “no reason” for the disparity between the two states.

“There is no reason why the same project, with the same allocation and timeline, is 98 percent completed in Sarawak but has failed in Sabah. So, the approach must be firmer, braver and more transparent,” he said.

Overall, the Pan Borneo Highway project in Sabah consists of 35 work packages under Phase One, with 16 packages under Phase 1A already underway, while the remaining 19 packages under Phase 1B have yet to start.

The total stretch of all the work packages is estimated at 706km.

Reporting by Alyaa Alhadjri, Hariz Mohd, N Faizal Ghazali

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