KOTA KINABALU – Lack of federal government funding and the failure of the previous Warisan-led state government to manage the sukuk (Islamic bonds) have been cited as reasons why the construction of Sabah’s Pan Borneo Highway is slow.
Funding for the highway is a separate allocation and not part of the annual infrastructure development budget for the state, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin reminded the state assembly sitting today.
More than 60% of the construction cost is to be funded through the issuance of sukuk by DanaInfra Nasional Bhd in the capital market, while only RM5 billion would be funded through development expenditure.
In his winding-up speech today, Bung Moktar (Lamag-BN) said that the previous government under Warisan (2018-2020) made a mistake by not handling the sukuk before terminating the project delivery partner (PDP) under the project.
“Sarawak was wise; before it eliminated the PDP, it handled the sukuk first. So, when the PDP was terminated, it had the allocation in hand already. That is why their (portion of the) Pan Borneo Highway project’s progress is faster than Sabah.
“Sarawak’s project is now close to 70% completed, while for Sabah, only the first phase of the project is 56% complete.
“Warisan should have managed the sukuk first before terminating the PDP. Now, the federal government is allocating RM1 billion a year for the project, and that is not even for a new package, it is for the 11 ongoing projects,” he said.
Bung said this year, the federal government has only approved an allocation for one package out of 19 (not including three additional packages), which are awaiting approval from the federal government.
The Pan Borneo Highway project in Sabah has three phases involving a 1,236km stretch of road at a cost of about RM40.2 billion. The first phase is 706km (RM15.2 billion) and has 35 completed packages and 15 ongoing packages involving 317.6km (RM7.98 billion).
“I know I have promised not to talk about the past. I am not blaming the past government. We have to move on.
“I am not offended that the PDP was terminated; it might have been a positive move. I just feel aggrieved that we did not make an early plan on how to get funds for the development of Pan Borneo.
“Now, I have to make a request to the federal government for a private finance initiative (PFI) to fund the development. Because if we rely on RM1 billion a year from the federal government, the Pan Borneo project will not be completed, even after 45 years,” he said.
In his defence, former chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (Senallang-Warisan) said Sarawak’s Pan Borneo project may progress faster as it now faces less land entitlement issues and have more capable contractors available.
“At the time, Sabah’s appointed contractors did not have the track record or experience to show they were capable of the job, unlike Sarawak. Sarawak also did not have as many issues with land, where Sabah had many obstacles relating to compensation and acquisition of land.
“We were aware of the sukuk, but the situation was hindered by the companies (without track records) and we had to ensure not only the quality of their work, but also that there will not be money wasted.”
Shafie said he hopes that Bung will continue pushing the matter, as the federal government did not mention any budget problems when the project was first proposed during Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s tenure as prime minister.
“Yes, we cooperated with the federal government, but not to the point that our buttons were pressed by Putrajaya. We should be the one pressing the button and get Putrajaya to make the decision for us,” he said.
Datuk Darell Leiking (Moyog-Warisan) said it is unfair for the federal government to say that it has no funds when Sabah asks for allocations for the project, as Sabah is the biggest contributor of oil and gas revenue to the country.
“We contribute a lot to the gross domestic product. The (federal government) should give Sabah a chance when there is a need,” he said.
Bung replied: “We are on the same page on this. Your points are also my points in the Dewan Rakyat.” – The Vibes, September 23, 2021
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