Sarawak MP urges ministers to settle road allocation dispute behind closed doors

PARLIAMENT | A Sarawak MP has urged federal ministers to resolve their differences over the Rural and Regional Development Ministry’s allocation behind closed doors, saying their public exchanges have left MPs and the public confused.

Willie Mongin (GPS-Puncak Borneo) made the call amid an ongoing dispute between the ministry, headed by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and the Finance Ministry, headed by its minister Anwar Ibrahim, over allegations that the former had overspent its budget.

He said the conflicting accounts had also confused MPs in East Malaysia, particularly after Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan recently told the Dewan Rakyat that no road projects had been cancelled, despite contractors in Willie's constituency claiming otherwise.

"He said the projects were not cancelled, but I was made to understand by some contractors in my constituency that they have received revocation letters.

"We are confused. So, I am asking here as a member of the government: we should sit together with the cabinet ministers and discuss this internally.

"No need to discuss this issue outside because now it looks like we are fighting each other. One person says one thing, and the other says another thing. Even we as MPs are confused.

"Some contractors came to us saying 'this project has been cancelled'. So, we do not know which one is telling the truth now," Willie said while debating the Budget 2027 bill at the committee stage earlier this evening.

The dispute over rural road allocations first emerged after contractors complained of delayed payments for projects under the ministry, which is led by Zahid, also the deputy prime minister.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Mustapha Sakmud also maintained that the projects had not been cancelled but deferred.

He agreed that such matters should be discussed within the cabinet rather than raised in Parliament, as conflicting statements had caused confusion among the public.

Tussle over allocations

Last September, Zahid expressed disappointment over delays in payments to contractors who had completed their projects and met their targets. He said the delays had caused cash flow problems and forced some contractors out of business.

However, Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican denied that the Rural and Regional Development Ministry's rural road allocation had been restricted, saying the full approved amount had been disbursed.

He attributed the payment delays to the near-exhaustion of this year's allocation, claiming that the ministry had consistently committed and spent beyond its approved budget.

The Finance Ministry subsequently approved an additional RM300 million to settle outstanding payments to contractors.

The dispute resurfaced on Oct 20, when the Finance Ministry disclosed that the ministry had received another RM500 million from savings in other ministries' development allocations to cover spending beyond its annual budget.

The Finance Ministry also said the ministry had been instructed to suspend the issuance of new letters of acceptance for rural road projects from Sept 10 to prevent further payment arrears.

On Thursday, during the Finance Ministry's winding-up speech on Budget 2027 in Parliament, Amir reiterated that rural road projects had not been cancelled, contrary to claims, but that the issuance of new letters of acceptance had been postponed.

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