Not sidelined: Sabah, Sarawak rural road allocation nearly triples to RM11b for 2023–2027, says Tengku Zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — Sabah and Sarawak have never been sidelined in rural road development, with allocations for the two states set to nearly triple between 2023 and 2027 compared with the preceding five years, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said.

The former Finance Minister and Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said rural road expenditure totalled RM3.7 billion between 2018 and 2022, compared with RM11 billion for the 2023-2027 period, including allocations for this year and next year.

He said the increase reflected the government’s commitment to rural infrastructure development, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak, which receive about half of the country’s total rural road expenditure each year.

In a social media post, Tengku Zafrul said actual expenditure on rural road development in the two states reached RM1.41 billion this year, the highest in a decade.

“Since 2023, RM4.6 billion has been spent. Each year, Sabah and Sarawak receive about half of the country’s total rural road expenditure.

“Sabah and Sarawak have not been sidelined. They have been prioritised,” said Tengku Zafrul, who is now Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) chairman and a senior political adviser to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

On the deferment of several rural road projects, Tengku Zafrul said the move should be viewed in the context of national fiscal management and rising contractual commitments that had exceeded the original allocations approved by Parliament.

He said rural road expenditure had exceeded the original parliamentary allocations every year since 2022, resulting in mounting contractual commitments and outstanding payments to contractors.

The Finance Ministry (MoF), he said, had to balance the funding requirements of all ministries, including those responsible for health, education and rural development.

“When a ministry makes commitments beyond its approved allocation, the MoF has to find ways to cover the shortfall.

“In this case, the Prime Minister, in his capacity as Finance Minister, approved an additional RM500 million in expenditure for 2026, using savings from the development allocations of other ministries to settle outstanding payments to contractors,” he said.

The ministries involved included the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry, Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, Transport Ministry, Housing and Local Government Ministry, and Economy Ministry.

Tengku Zafrul stressed that the deferment of new contracts did not mean existing projects had been cancelled, adding that the MoF had never issued any directive to terminate them.

Instead, he said, the deferment was intended to prevent outstanding payments from mounting further and ensure the government’s financial commitments remained under control.

“Deferring new contracts does not mean existing projects have been cancelled. The MoF has never issued any directive to cancel them. New contracts have been deferred to prevent payment arrears from increasing. These are two different things,” he said.

He said prudent fiscal management required the government to consider not only whether projects had been approved, but also its ability to provide sufficient funding for their implementation.

He added that the government understood the needs of residents in many villages across Sabah and Sarawak, who were still waiting for better road access.

Against this backdrop, Budget 2027 continues to provide RM2.27 billion for rural road development, alongside RM34.9 billion for Sabah and Sarawak, the highest allocation among all states.

“Sabah and Sarawak should not be used as political capital by anyone. 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

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吉隆坡，11月1日讯——拿督斯里东姑扎夫鲁·阿卜杜勒·阿齐兹表示，沙巴和砂拉越在乡村道路发展方面从未被边缘化，与前五年相比，2023年至2027年间，这两个州的拨款将增加近三倍。

这位前财政部长兼投资、贸易和工业部长表示，2018 年至 2022 年期间，农村道路支出总额为 37 亿令吉，而 2023 年至 2027 年期间的支出总额为 110 亿令吉，其中包括今年和明年的拨款。

他表示，这一增长反映了政府对农村基础设施发展的承诺，尤其是在沙巴和砂拉越，这两个州每年获得全国农村道路总支出的一半左右。

东姑扎夫鲁在社交媒体上发帖称，今年这两个州的农村道路发展实际支出达到 14.1 亿令吉，是十年来最高的。

“自 2023 年以来，已投入 46 亿令吉。每年，沙巴和砂拉越获得的农村道路建设支出约占全国总额的一半。”

“沙巴和砂拉越并没有被边缘化，而是被优先考虑，”现任马来西亚投资发展局（MIDA）主席兼首相拿督斯里安华·易卜拉欣高级政治顾问的东姑扎夫鲁说道。

关于推迟几个农村道路项目，东姑扎夫鲁表示，这一举措应该放在国家财政管理和不断增加的合同承诺的背景下看待，这些合同承诺已经超过了议会最初批准的拨款。

他表示，自 2022 年以来，农村道路支出每年都超过了议会最初的拨款，导致合同承诺不断增加，拖欠承包商的款项也越来越多。

他说，财政部必须平衡所有部委的资金需求，包括负责卫生、教育和农村发展的部委。

“当一个部委做出超出其批准拨款范围的承诺时，财政部必须想办法弥补缺口。

他说：“在这种情况下，首相以财政部长的身份批准了2026年额外支出5亿令吉，动用其他部门发展拨款的结余来支付拖欠​​承包商的款项。”

参与的部门包括妇女、家庭和社区发展部、自然资源和环境可持续发展部、旅游、艺术和文化部、农业和粮食安全部、交通运输部、住房和地方政府部以及经济部。

东姑扎夫鲁强调，新合同的推迟并不意味着现有项目已被取消，并补充说，财政部从未发布任何终止这些项目的指令。

他表示，延期付款的目的是为了防止未付账款进一步增加，并确保政府的财政承诺保持在可控范围内。

“推迟新合同并不意味着取消现有项目。财政部从未发布过任何取消现有项目的指令。推迟新合同是为了防止拖欠款项增加。这是两码事，”他说道。

他表示，审慎的财政管理要求政府不仅要考虑项目是否获得批准，还要考虑其是否有能力为项目的实施提供足够的资金。

他还补充说，政府了解沙巴和砂拉越许多村庄居民的需求，他们仍在等待更好的道路通行条件。

在此背景下，2027 年财政预算案继续拨款 22.7 亿令吉用于乡村道路发展，同时拨款 349 亿令吉给沙巴和砂拉越，是所有州属中拨款最高的。

“沙巴和砂拉越不应被任何人当作政治资本。正如首相所强调的，如果没有良好的治理，仅仅依靠拨款是不够的。”

他说：“重要的是项目得以实施，承包商得到付款，民众受益。这才是我们的首要任务。”——马新社

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