Kota Kinabalu: Usukan Assemblywoman Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis said Sabah should not be subjected to the same diesel subsidy rationalisation quota imposed on Peninsular Malaysia, as Federal data showed the State recorded significantly fewer smuggling and leakage cases.
“It is unfair if the standard of rationalisation applied in the peninsula is also applied to Sabah and across the whole country,” she said while debating the Supplementary Supply Bill 2026 on Monday.
Munirah, who is also Kota Belud Member of Parliament, said a written reply from the Federal ministry dated July 16 showed that between 2022 and 2025, Peninsular Malaysia recorded 3,502 cases involving leakages, misuse and smuggling of subsidised RON95 petrol, diesel and LPG, compared with 946 cases in Sabah and 590 in Sarawak.
“This shows that most leakage and smuggling cases actually happen in the peninsula, not Sabah. Just because leakages are caused by a small number of smugglers and weak enforcement, the whole of Sabah should not be punished with a fuel price increase,” she said.
She thanked the Sabah Government for rejecting the application of the peninsula’s quota system to Sabah, adding that even if a quota system was eventually introduced in the State, it should not replicate the peninsula’s model.
She warned that any fuel price increase would have a wider impact, triggering higher inflation in food prices, goods and transportation costs.
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Munirah also called for strict governance conditions before Sabah approves RM434.73 million in additional funding for the Sabah Water Department, citing its previous integrity issues.
“The people have never forgotten that this Department has a dark record on integrity issues that once shocked the whole nation. Before we approve this large allocation to the Water Department, the State Government must impose governance conditions and strict regulatory mechanisms,” she said.
She noted that the Department was seeking RM201.03 million for operating expenditure and RM233.70 million for development, including RM134 million allocated for an immediate water supply programme.
“Sabahans continue to suffer water shortages not because allocations were never given, but because of leakages within the system,” she said.
Munirah questioned what monitoring mechanisms were in place to prevent leakages in the RM134 million allocation, and whether the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission or the State Audit Department would be involved in real-time procurement oversight.
She also asked whether the State could guarantee that all procurement of capital assets and services worth hundreds of millions of ringgit would be carried out through open tenders rather than direct negotiations or awards.
She called for a detailed list of treatment plants and areas that would benefit from the allocation.
Additionally, she questioned how long Sabah would remain tied to payments to private concessionaires under privatisation financing arrangements, and when the State would move towards a more effective water management model similar to those in Selangor, Penang and Sarawak.
She suggested a performance-based payment model linked to the amount of treated water actually reaching consumers’ homes.
On Kota Belud, Munirah asked for the district’s non-revenue water target under the 13th Malaysia Plan, the current year’s target percentage, and a breakdown of water spending between urban, rural and interior areas, including the allocation set aside for Kota Belud.
She also pressed the State Government on delayed coastal protection projects and damaged rural roads in Kota Belud, highlighting the Sungai Abai River mouth conservation project, estimated at RM126 million, and the Pulau Mantanani coastal erosion control project, estimated at RM97 million.
“The need is very urgent,” she said, urging the Sabah Government to push for both projects to be implemented under the second rolling plan of the 13th Malaysia Plan.
Munirah also listed several damaged roads in Kota Belud requiring attention, including Jalan Tamu Kota Belud leading to the Waterworks, Jalan Kampung Siasai Jaya, Jalan Siasai Kumpang, Jalan Bukit Timbang Dayang, Jalan Puhus Pinasang, Jalan Tanjung Batu, Jalan Wakap Kota Peladok, and Jalan Liang from the Pan Borneo junction to SMK Usukan.
She asked whether the roads were included under the current supplementary allocation.
She further questioned whether the Government planned to address a coastal shortcut road that frequently floods during heavy rain, leaving residents stranded until floodwaters recede.
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