KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah government has proposed to Putrajaya that excess development allocations for the state be channelled into a trust fund, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said that this is to ensure that federal government funds for development projects in Sabah do not expire if they cannot be spent in the current year.
“The state government will monitor that the allocation in the trust fund is used efficiently, according to the purpose of the allocation,” he said, in his reply to an oral question from Datuk Darell Leiking (Warisan-Moyog) at today’s Sabah assembly sitting.
Darell wanted to know the steps the state government has taken to ensure that federal allocations can be fully spent, since the allocation in 2022 is very large.
Hajiji said forming a trust fund is one of the best methods to ensure that Sabah does not face losses due to unused allocations.
He also said that Sabah received RM5.709 billion in development funds from the federal government, and of that amount, RM4.457 billion had been spent.
He added that the remaining RM1.252 billion could not be spent due to several implementation issues, among them involving contractors, utilities, land and management, as well as implementing agencies.
“The state government always takes proactive measures in dealing with the matter. Among them, by ensuring the high feasibility of a project for implementation in the current year and the following year,” he explained.
He said that Sabah will also ensure that all project applications to Putrajaya are certified first, as stated in the Guidelines for the Preparation of the Midterm Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan and Applications for Federally Funded Development Projects 2024-25.
This is to ensure that development planning is in accordance with the state’s requirements, and that project implementation is completed within the set period, he said.
“To ensure the implementation of federal development projects is carried out as planned, monitoring efforts are carried out continuously by the state government, in cooperation with the state Development Office.
“One of them is through the State Development Action Council, which plays a role in monitoring and discussing the implementation of federal development projects in Sabah,” he said.
Hajiji said that empowerment of the state Public Works Department can be done through recognition it as a technical department, under the federal government’s Treasury Directive 182.
The addition of new technical officers is also vital in helping Sabah plan and implement state development projects more efficiently, he said. – Bernama, May 23, 2023
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