Sarawakians continue to be "misled" by the
promises of development by the federal government, opposition
parliamentarians said today when claiming that 92 percent of the
projects planned for the state are yet to commence.
Of 310 projects worth RM2.3 billion announced for Sarawak in the past two years, only the small projects have taken off, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said.
Announcements of allocations for the poorest states in the country, Anwar added, "are repeated time and time again".
"The prime minister and deputy prime minister have been repeating the same announcements every year...
"So, this means if the BN is still in control of the national budget next year, its leaders will repeat the announcements and all their supporters will applaud the repeated announcements," he said.
"Yes, the people of Sarawak have been misled," added the PKR de facto leader and Permatang Pauh MP, who leaves for Kuching today.
Some of the undelivered projects, worth more than half-a-billion ringgit, were awarded directly, without undergoing the tender process.
'Status of 85 percent of the projects not known'
He then quoted an extract from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's Budget speech last year: "We will ensure the big projects are conducted in an open and transparent way. To ensure a level playing field, we will use competitive tender as the ‘default' process. Only in exceptional cases, will we resort to restricted or direct negotiations."
However, said Anwar, "this has not been the case in Sarawak".
He claimed that out of the 310 projects approved for the state, only four percent were given out through a tender process, while 11 percent were directly negotiated and the status of the remaining 85 percent of the projects is not known.
Azan Ismail (PKR-Indera Mahkota) and Mujahid Yusof Rawa (PAS-Parit Buntar) said the Auditor-General's Report should be given to the MPs as soon as possible to allow them to cross-check matters of development fund expenditure.
"If you note the federal expenditures, Sabah and Sarawak have since last year been given allocations that are five times more than states like Terengganu... money is being splurged, but there is no development," said Azan.
Suspicions raised on audit report delay
Anwar said he was "suspicious" whether the audit report was "being amended" in lieu of the delay in its distribution to Parliament.
"This delay is unprecedented, and it has raised a lot of suspicion ...why this inordinate delay, and why has no explanation been given," he asked.
"Normally the auditor-general works under a rigid schedule. They observe the time frame, it is like the budget, you can't say that the budget is supposed to be read out but you are not ready with the budget.
"It doesn't work that way. The government functions on specific procedures... in the umpteen years I was in the cabinet and the eight years as finance minister, I'm clearly aware of this," Anwar said.
Of 310 projects worth RM2.3 billion announced for Sarawak in the past two years, only the small projects have taken off, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said.
Announcements of allocations for the poorest states in the country, Anwar added, "are repeated time and time again".
"The prime minister and deputy prime minister have been repeating the same announcements every year..."So, this means if the BN is still in control of the national budget next year, its leaders will repeat the announcements and all their supporters will applaud the repeated announcements," he said.
"Yes, the people of Sarawak have been misled," added the PKR de facto leader and Permatang Pauh MP, who leaves for Kuching today.
Some of the undelivered projects, worth more than half-a-billion ringgit, were awarded directly, without undergoing the tender process.
'Status of 85 percent of the projects not known'
He then quoted an extract from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's Budget speech last year: "We will ensure the big projects are conducted in an open and transparent way. To ensure a level playing field, we will use competitive tender as the ‘default' process. Only in exceptional cases, will we resort to restricted or direct negotiations."
However, said Anwar, "this has not been the case in Sarawak".
He claimed that out of the 310 projects approved for the state, only four percent were given out through a tender process, while 11 percent were directly negotiated and the status of the remaining 85 percent of the projects is not known.
Azan Ismail (PKR-Indera Mahkota) and Mujahid Yusof Rawa (PAS-Parit Buntar) said the Auditor-General's Report should be given to the MPs as soon as possible to allow them to cross-check matters of development fund expenditure.
"If you note the federal expenditures, Sabah and Sarawak have since last year been given allocations that are five times more than states like Terengganu... money is being splurged, but there is no development," said Azan.
Suspicions raised on audit report delay
Anwar said he was "suspicious" whether the audit report was "being amended" in lieu of the delay in its distribution to Parliament.
"This delay is unprecedented, and it has raised a lot of suspicion ...why this inordinate delay, and why has no explanation been given," he asked.
"Normally the auditor-general works under a rigid schedule. They observe the time frame, it is like the budget, you can't say that the budget is supposed to be read out but you are not ready with the budget.
"It doesn't work that way. The government functions on specific procedures... in the umpteen years I was in the cabinet and the eight years as finance minister, I'm clearly aware of this," Anwar said.
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