KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): The Federal Government has decided to give Sabah and Sarawak the discretion to implement Public Works Department projects costing less than RM50 million, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced on Wednesday (Jan 4).
The decision aims to streamline bureaucratic processes that may cause a delay in the implementation of these projects, Anwar said at a media briefing after the weekly Cabinet meeting.
“Sabah and Sarawak have their Public Works Department at the state level, but there are many procedures involved in Putrajaya as well. Hence, we have decided — and the Ministry of Finance agreed — that for projects below RM50 million, we give almost full discretion for them to decide on implementation, in accordance with the existing rules,” he said.
Anwar also said he will meet with Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to discuss increasing the amount of a special grant for the two states, which is presently RM25 million per annum for Sarawak and RM16 million for Sabah.
Although it is provided under Section 112D of the Federal Constitution that the special grant should be reviewed with a “reasonable” increment every five years, Anwar said no revision was done in the past, and his administration intends to reactivate it to honour the Malaysia Agreement 1963.