KOTA KINABALU: Chairman of the Sabah State Leadership Council for Keadilan Datuk Mustapha Sakmud has refuted the assertion that the MADANI Government has cancelled or reduced the Rural Road Project (JALB) allocation in Sabah and Sarawak.
He said the assertion lacks factual basis and must be backed by clear evidence.
Mustapha asserted that delaying the issuance of new Letters of Acceptance (SST) should not be conflated with the cancellation of development projects that have already received approval.
In reality, he said the original JALB allocation at the national level continues to grow, increasing from RM2.11 billion for 2026 and RM2.27 billion for 2027.
“As documented in records, prior to the MADANI Government administration, JALB allocation never reached RM1 billion. The RM1.09 billion allocation only commenced in 2023.
“This represents compelling evidence of the administration’s commitment under the leadership of Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim to address the needs of Sabah and Sarawak,” he said in a statememt today.
According to Mustapha the Ministry of Finance has approved an additional expenditure of RM500 million in 2026 to assist in resolving outstanding contractor payments for JALB projects.
“This action clearly demonstrates that the government is not reducing funding; rather, it is providing supplementary allocations to ensure existing project commitments are fulfilled,” he added.
He said the genuine issue requiring attention is contract commitments and expenditures exceeding annual allocations that have been approved, resulting in payment arrears and delays to contractors.
Therefore, Mustapha said the directive to suspend new SST on 10 September 2026 represents a “financial control measure” to prevent outstanding payments from continuing to accumulate, not a directive to cancel development projects entirely.
The government has also requested the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) to provide financing requirement projections through 2027 based on awarded contracts, he said.
“This represents compelling evidence of the administration’s commitment under the leadership of Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim to address the needs of Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
Mustapha said the Ministry of Finance has approved an additional expenditure of RM500 million in 2026 to assist in resolving outstanding contractor payments for JALB projects.
“This action clearly demonstrates that the government is not reducing funding; rather, it is providing supplementary allocations to ensure existing project commitments are fulfilled.
“The genuine issue requiring attention is contract commitments and expenditures exceeding annual allocations that have been approved, resulting in payment arrears and delays to contractors,” he said.
Therefore, he said the directive to suspend new SST on 10 September 2026 represents a “financial control measure” to prevent outstanding payments from continuing to accumulate, not a directive to cancel development projects entirely.
Mustapha said the government has also requested the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) to provide financing requirement projections through 2027 based on awarded contracts.
