{
  "id": 15398353,
  "title": "Sabah Pan Borneo Highway progress higher than 11.4% in A-G report, says DCM",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/sabah-pan-borneo-highway-progress-higher-than-11-4-in-a-g-report-says",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-18T10:06:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/18/sabah-pan-borneo-highway-progress-higher-than-11-4-in-a-g-report-says-dcm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project's 11.4% completion rate reported by the Auditor-General's Office does not accurately reflect the project's physical progress, according to Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joachim Gunsalam. Dr Gunsalam clarified that the figure represents only four out of the 35 packages under Phase 1, which have been fully handed over. While the 11.4% figure is accurate in terms of packages handed over, it fails to account for the substantial progress made on other packages, with some alignments reaching between 90% to 93% completion. Dr Gunsalam highlighted that eight packages, spanning 179km, are scheduled to be opened to motorists by the end of the year, demonstrating positive construction progress. Regarding the Variation Order (VO) exceeding RM514 million, Dr Gunsalam explained that the state government's role is limited to providing technical support, as the VO's approval is a federal responsibility. He emphasized that the additional cost was necessary due to Sabah's challenging topography, including hilly areas with slope stability issues and swampy, peat soil, which vary in thickness from 1 to 1.5km. The state government views the audit findings positively and has taken steps to address them, supported by strong collaboration between state and federal governments.",
  "summary": "Dr Joachim Gunsalam points out the actual physical progress is much higher as the auditor-general only measured fully-handed over packages.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Bernama",
        "title": "General : 11.4 Per Cent Figure Does Not Reflect Actual Progress Of Sabah Pan Borneo Highway - Dr Joachim",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/general-11-4-per-cent-figure-does-not-reflect-actual-progress-of",
        "published": "2026-10-18T08:24:32.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "11.4pct figure does not reflect actual progress of Sabah Pan Borneo Highway - Dr Joachim",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/11-4pct-figure-does-not-reflect-actual-progress-of-sabah-pan-borneo",
        "published": "2026-10-18T10:01:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Sabah Pan Borneo Highway progress higher than 11.4% in A-G report, says DCM",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/sabah-pan-borneo-highway-progress-higher-than-11-4-in-a-g-report-says-15401873",
        "published": "2026-10-18T10:06:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malaysiakini",
        "title": "Sabah Pan Borneo project: Figures cited by AG report doesn't reflect actual progress - Sabah DCM",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/sabah-pan-borneo-project-figures-cited-by-ag-report-doesnt-reflect",
        "published": "2026-10-18T10:23:37.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}