MOF never ordered rural road projects cancelled, only deferred new contracts, says Tengku Zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — The Finance Ministry (MOF) has never issued any directive to cancel rural road projects, but has only deferred new contracts to prevent outstanding payments to contractors from continuing to accumulate, according to the prime minister’s senior political adviser, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

He said the deferment was necessary following rural road development expenditure exceeding the original allocations approved by Parliament annually since 2022, resulting in increased contractual commitments and outstanding payments to contractors.

“The deferment of new contracts does not mean existing projects have been cancelled. MOF has never issued any directive to cancel projects. New contracts were deferred to prevent outstanding payments from continuing to increase.

“These are two different things. That is why the country’s finances must be managed prudently, not merely by approving projects but also by ensuring sufficient allocations are available to pay for them,” he said in a video shared on his social media today.

Tengku Zafrul said claims that rural road allocations, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak, had been deliberately reduced should be assessed based on the government’s actual expenditure figures for the period concerned.

He said rural road expenditure for the 2023-2027 period, including allocations for this year and next year, had increased to RM11 billion compared with RM3.7 billion for the 2018-2022 period, representing almost a threefold increase.

“In Sabah and Sarawak alone, actual rural road expenditure this year reached RM1.41 billion, the highest in the past 10 years.

“Since 2023, RM4.6 billion has been spent. Every year, approximately half of the country’s total rural road expenditure is channelled to Sabah and Sarawak. Sabah and Sarawak have not been sidelined. Sabah and Sarawak have been given priority,” he said.

Tengku Zafrul said MOF had to balance the allocation needs of all ministries, including those responsible for health, education and rural development, to ensure the government’s financial commitments could be met.

He said when a ministry made spending commitments that exceeded its approved allocation, MOF had to seek additional financial resources to meet those requirements.

In this regard, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had approved an additional RM500 million in expenditure for 2026, using savings from the development allocations of other ministries, to enable outstanding payments to contractors to be settled.

He said the government understood that many villages in Sabah and Sarawak were still waiting for better road facilities.

In this connection, Budget 2027 provides RM2.27 billion for rural road development, while RM34.9 billion has been allocated to Sabah and Sarawak, the highest amount among all states.

He also reminded all parties that development issues in the two states should not be used as political ammunition.

“As the prime minister has stressed, allocations alone are not enough without good governance. What matters is that projects are implemented, contractors are paid and the people benefit. That is our priority,” he said. — Bernama

Saris, sweets and shopping sprees: Deepavali buzz builds across Malaysia

Rubbish raid! Thirteen-foot crocodile caught after rummaging through trash for food in Sarawak village

Bought one thing, got another? Anwar orders crackdown on online shopping scams, says Fahmi

吉隆坡，10 月 30 日讯——据首相高级政治顾问东姑拿督斯里扎夫鲁·东姑阿卜杜勒·阿齐兹称，财政部从未下令取消乡村道路项目，只是推迟了新合同，以防止拖欠承包商的款项继续累积。

他表示，由于自 2022 年以来，农村道路发展支出每年都超过了议会批准的原始拨款，导致合同承诺增加，拖欠承包商的款项也增多，因此有必要推迟拨款。

“推迟新合同并不意味着现有项目已被取消。财政部从未发布过任何取消项目的指令。推迟新合同是为了防止未付账款继续增加。”

“这是两码事。因此，国家财政必须谨慎管理，不仅要批准项目，还要确保有足够的拨款来支付项目费用，”他在今天分享于社交媒体的一段视频中说道。

东姑扎夫鲁表示，有关农村道路拨款，特别是沙巴和砂拉越的拨款被故意减少的说法，应该根据政府在相关时期的实际支出数据来评估。

他表示，2023-2027 年期间的乡村道路支出（包括今年和明年的拨款）已增至 110 亿令吉，而 2018-2022 年期间为 37 亿令吉，增幅几乎是之前的三倍。

“仅在沙巴和砂拉越，今年的实际乡村道路支出就达到了 14.1 亿令吉，是过去 10 年来的最高水平。

“自2023年以来，已投入46亿令吉。每年，全国乡村道路总支出的约一半都用于沙巴和砂拉越。沙巴和砂拉越并未被边缘化，而是被给予了优先地位。”他说道。

东姑扎夫鲁表示，财政部必须平衡所有部门的拨款需求，包括负责卫生、教育和农村发展的部门，以确保政府的财政承诺能够得到履行。

他表示，当某个部委的支出承诺超过其批准的拨款额时，财政部就必须寻求额外的财政资源来满足这些需求。

在这方面，首相兼财政部长拿督斯里安华·易卜拉欣已批准在 2026 年额外支出 5 亿令吉，动用其他部门发展拨款的结余，以支付拖欠承包商的款项。

他说，政府了解到沙巴和砂拉越的许多村庄仍在等待更好的道路设施。

在这方面，2027 年财政预算案拨款 22.7 亿令吉用于乡村道路发展，而沙巴和砂拉越则获得了 349 亿令吉的拨款，是所有州属中拨款额最高的。

他还提醒各方，这两个州的发展问题不应被用作政治武器。

“正如首相所强调的，光有拨款是不够的，良好的治理才是关键。重要的是项目得以实施，承包商得到付款，人民真正受益。这才是我们的首要任务。”他说道。——马新社

纱丽、甜点和购物狂欢：马来西亚各地洋溢着屠妖节的喜庆气氛。

垃圾堆突袭！砂拉越村庄一只13英尺长的鳄鱼在垃圾堆里翻找食物后被捕获。

买一样东西，收到的却是另一件？法赫米称，安华下令严厉打击网络购物诈骗