KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun has backed calls for the federal funds meant for Sabah projects worth RM50 million and below to be transferred to the state’s trust fund.
He said the move would simplify the process and expedite the implementation of the planned projects.
“This is what I have been advocating. Ya, let’s keep things simple. I have been advocating the idea of ‘keeping it short and simple’ or KISS. This is the way we should do things.
“I believe if we decentralise the decision-making system, that should resolve the delay straight away,” he told reporters after launching the Business Tech Week here today.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya had recently requested for the allocations to be directly transferred to the state trust fund to ensure efficient implementation of the projects, which were scheduled to commence by early April this year.
Both Sabah and Sarawak were accorded the authority to approve projects valued at RM50 million and below after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made an announcement on the matter last January.
This was to replace the regular process of approving projects of such value, which was found time-consuming as most of the technical process is done in Putrajaya.
The announcement also saw the statuses of the Public Works Department from both Sabah and Sarawak upgraded as technical agencies able to approve the projects. – The Vibes, March 16, 2023
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