SUNGAI Sibuga Assemblywoman Lisa Hassan Alban (pic) wants better lead time in reviewing supplementary budget bills, saying opposition lawmakers in particular were given only a few days to scrutinise the Supplementary Supply Bill 2026 and eight other bills before debate.
“To expect this House to scrutinise and pass multi-million-ringgit State expenditure within a mere two days sitting is an insult to the concept of check and balances,” she said when debating the Supplementary Supply Bill 2026, Monday.
She said they were currently given only printed copies of the bills a few days before the sitting and called on the government to provide soft copies of the documents instead, so lawmakers could search and analyse the contents more efficiently within the short timeframe given.
“Next time, kindly provide us with soft copies of these documents. If the government wants us to review hundreds of pages within 72 hours, hand us the soft copy files,” she said.
Additionally, she pointed out a longstanding sewage issue in her constituency as an example of coordination challenges between government agencies.
“The State Sewerages Services Department has a lorry that can suck out sewage waste and solid waste. The Sandakan Municipal Council is also involved however they do not have the same lorry.
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“However, they cannot borrow from each other because there is no proper authority to do so.
“This is administrative limitation in its purest form. A broken operational chain where procedure overrides the immediate welfare of the people,” she said.
She said in such cases, one department would point to another over jurisdiction while the other cited a lack of emergency funds, leaving residents to wait for the following year’s budget for a resolution.
She also raised questions over several allocation increases sought by the Sabah State Library under the Supplementary Supply Bill, urging the State Finance Ministry to provide more clarity on the figures.
She noted the original 2026 budget for a reading campaign was RM200,000, while the government is now seeking an additional RM1,807,820.
“If these programmes were genuinely planned throughout the year, why were they completely excluded from the original 2026 budget?” she said.
She raised a similar query over the library’s online database allocation, which started at RM50,000 but was now being supplemented by close to RM600,000 more.
She also pointed to an allocation under the monograph activity, where the original RM3 million for other capital assets was being supplemented by a further RM1.15 million, stated to cover the purchase of furniture and other departmental assets.
“Universally a monograph refers to detailed written studies, books or publications. I would appreciate clarification on why an allocation for furniture falls under this category,” she said.
On the largest increase, under other financial benefits, Lisa noted the original allocation of RM80,000 was being supplemented by RM1.23 million, stated to settle personal advance accounts linked to special financial assistance payments.
“I would like to understand why this account was allowed to accumulate such a large amount, and I hope the Ministry can provide a detailed explanation,” she said, calling for greater transparency in how the allocation was managed.
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