Why no mention of East Coast Expressway in budget, says Tuan Ibrahim

Opposition MP Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man criticized the government for omitting the proposed East Coast Expressway 3 project from the 2027 budget. In an interview outside the Dewan Rakyat, Tuan Ibrahim stated that while the budget touched on various topics, the lack of mention of the LPT3 project was notable. The government has previously indicated that the 122km highway would be developed through a build-operate-transfer concession model, though no concessionaire has been selected yet.

Tuan Ibrahim also raised concerns about disproportionate development plans for different regions, pointing out that the 2027 budget focused primarily on certain sectors. The former environment minister expressed disappointment over the limited attention given to climate change, a significant issue facing the nation. He pointed out that current flood mitigation projects were designed based on a 50-year average recurrence interval, meaning there is a 2% chance of a major flood occurring in any given year.

Tuan Ibrahim argued that the budget should allocate double the funds using a 100-year model, which would significantly reduce the risk of flood-related failures.