KUCHING, March 16: Sri Aman MP Dato Sri Doris Sophia Brodie is questioning what will happen to the two approved road upgrading projects in her parliamentary constituency costing nearly RM500 million in total following the alleged Jana Wibawa corruption scandal.
In a news report by TVS, Doris said she was made to understand that the two projects, approved under the Jana Wibawa programme in the First Rolling Plan of 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), have been suspended or postponed.
“It involves the upgrading of Jalan Pantu, Kerenggas and Enkeranji with an estimated cost of RM141.9 million and the upgrading of Jalan Tuba, Muding and Pelaie with an estimated cost of RM354.5 million.
“I raised this issue to seek further clarification on the status of these two projects as well as the steps the Federal government (or the Ministry) will take to determine if these projects can continue,” she asked during the Parliament sitting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday (March 16).
Doris pressed that the matter needed to be given serious attention by the Federal government as the poor and damaged road condition will continue to bring misery to the people.
“The roads used now are either a former logging road or oil palm plantation road which are in very bad condition, especially during the monsoon or rainy season that makes it worse even for four-wheeled vehicles to drive on,” she pointed out.
While this issue was being raised, Doris added that her constituents are already impacted and suffering from flooded roads with some areas cut off that have further hindered commute and access.
“Therefore, I am appealing to the Ministry (of Rural and Regional Development) not to postpone the projects so that the misery of the community will not be prolonged,” she urged.
The Jana Wibawa programme was introduced back in November 2020 by the government at the time which was led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as a stimulus initiative to empower and improve the capacity of Bumiputera contractors.
However, Muhyiddin, who is Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman and Bersatu president, was charged on March 13 with abuse of power and money laundering in relation to the projects.
As several PN leaders were charged with corruption linked to the programme, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government will postpone the RM5.7 billion worth of rural development projects under the Jana Wibawa scheme.
It was also reported that Anwar has given assurance that the projects will not be cancelled but they will be reviewed and renegotiated as many had violated financial regulations. — DayakDaily
