PAC digesa siasat KKDW

Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) is urging the Malaysian Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) to investigate allegations of wasteful spending over the past four years. PAC member Chong Zhemin emphasized the importance of such an inquiry to ensure that ministries do not exceed their budgets without strict financial discipline.

He stressed that the criticism is not directed at the KKDW minister being from Umno, but rather to guarantee that all ministries adhere to the same financial practices regardless of their political affiliation.

Chong highlighted that if each ministry exceeds 25% of its budget and requests additional funds from the Perbadanan Perbayaran Negara (PPN), it could lead to an additional RM100 billion in annual overspending. With 30 ministries having annual budgets totaling over RM400 billion, the potential for significant financial waste is substantial. He questioned whether overspending beyond the original budget is permissible under financial regulations and what actions would be taken against the respective ministries involved.

Chong also requested KKDW to list the critical and mandatory projects that may need to be cut in response to the allegations. Manndzri Nasib (BN-Tenggara) proposed that the investigation should extend to all ministries, not just KKDW. Wilfred Madius Tangau (GRS-Tuaran) urged KKDW to clarify the status of development projects in rural Sabah that were previously accused of being canceled, following an explanation from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) that the projects were merely delayed.

MoF clarified the issue of canceled and delayed rural road projects in Sabah, and Tuaran now asks KKDW to provide the real situation. Specifically, Tuaran asked whether the projects were canceled or delayed and if so, when, which projects are still ongoing, which ones were delayed, and when they will resume. Tuaran also asked if the Sabah projects affected by these issues will resume in 2027.

These demands were echoed by Isnaraissah Munirah (Warisan-Kota Belud), who requested KKDW to present a list of the involved projects to clarify the actual situation. She emphasized a simple list of the projects involved.