Kuala Lumpur: Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis slammed the Federal Government over the prolonged delay in delivering the RM320 million in “immediate” water aid for Sabah, saying the funds remain undisbursed nearly two years after their approval by no less than the Prime Minister.
Speaking during her debate on the King’s address in Parliament on Thursday, she criticised the slow implementation of the project, which was initially approved in June 2023 with an expected completion time of six to eight months.
However, nearly two years later, the project has yet to start, with the latest update indicating that approval from the Special Standing Treasury (SST) is only expected in mid-2025.
Munirah also revealed that the promised RM320 million had been reduced to RM300 million, with only RM100 million being additional funding while RM200 million had already been allocated under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
More importantly, she pointed out that what was initially announced as aid turned out to be a loan that the Sabah Government would have to repay.
“This is not a skyscraper project, this is not a resort project. This is a water supply project, a basic necessity,” she said.
“It was announced as aid, so we assumed it would be given. Turns out it’s a loan. Initially, we were told it would take eight months at most, but now it will only start after two years. What is this?”
She also took aim at the Sabah’s project implementations, highlighting that in 2024, the state government managed to spend only 20pc of federal development funds allocated to it.
She questioned whether the same issue would persist this year, citing Sarawak’s proactive approach as a stark contrast.
“When Sarawak was given control over its project implementation, they immediately hired 300 engineers and relevant officers to speed up the process.
“But in Sabah? Only after I raised this issue last year did the State Government finally advertise the hiring of 32 engineers, five architects and 108 assistant engineers,” she said.
Munirah said Sabah could not afford to move at the same pace as other states if it wanted to catch up, that development efforts needed to be accelerated.
“If we are already behind, we cannot afford to move at the same speed as others. If they are walking, we should be running. If they are running, we should be flying to close the gap,” she said, urging both the federal and state governments to take serious action in addressing Sabah’s long-standing infrastructure issues.
Sabah has long struggled with water supply issues, with many districts facing frequent disruptions due to aging infrastructure, inadequate funding, and slow project implementation.
Despite repeated federal allocations, delays in procurement and bureaucracy have left many areas without consistent access to clean water, affecting households, businesses, and economic growth.
