Kota Kinabalu: Parti Warisan vice-president Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman demanded answers from the Federal Government on who approved the projects, who allowed spending commitments to exceed the approved allocation and who will be held responsible for cancelling rural development projects in Sabah after Letters of Acceptance (SST) had already been issued.
The former Deputy Home Minister said Sabahans must not be left to bear the consequences of decisions made within ministries.
He said the disclosure by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the Dewan Rakyat over the cancellation of rural development projects in Sabah and Sarawak raised serious questions about financial discipline, procurement procedures and accountability.
Azis said the issue went beyond whether funding was sufficient. The more fundamental question was how projects could advance to the stage of SST issuance before funding problems became grounds for cancellation.
“If the allocation was insufficient, why were these projects allowed to proceed so far? Who approved them, and who made the decision to cancel them?” he asked in a statement.
He pointed to the Finance Ministry’s earlier explanation that the Rural and Regional Development Ministry (KKDW) had made spending commitments exceeding its approved annual allocation for rural road projects.
Azis said the Government must explain when the funding shortfall was identified, why it was not addressed earlier and whether proper financial controls had been observed before the projects entered the procurement process.
He warned that issuing an SST only to cancel a project later could leave the public questioning whether government approval procedures were being properly managed and who would answer for the consequences.
The implications could extend beyond delayed development. Azis questioned whether the cancellations might trigger compensation claims or other financial liabilities, potentially exposing public funds to additional costs.
He demanded a full disclosure of the affected projects, including their locations, contract values, allocations involved and specific reasons for cancellation.
The Government must also identify the agencies responsible for the decisions and explain whether any review would be conducted to establish how the situation arose.
Azis said the public should not be expected to accept general explanations about funding constraints without a clear account of how projects reached the SST stage in the first place.
For Sabah, the stakes are particularly high. Rural communities continue to depend on improved roads and basic infrastructure to access schools, healthcare facilities, markets and employment opportunities.
Every cancelled project risks prolonging those difficulties, leaving villagers to contend with poor road conditions, costly journeys and continued barriers to economic activity.
He stressed that the people of Sabah should not become victims of weaknesses in financial planning or coordination between ministries.