00:00The Treasury says delayed payments to rural development contractors were caused by most of this year's rural road allocation already
00:10being spent.
00:12Treasury Secretary General Johan Mahmoud Merikan said there were no restrictions on the Rural and Regional Development Ministry's allocation as
00:21the funds had been fully disbursed.
00:24Johan said the Ministry had consistently spent more than its approved annual allocation for rural road projects in recent years.
00:35The Ministry spent RM1.8 billion in 2023, RM2 billion in 2024 and RM2.3 billion in 2025, all higher
00:46than the allocations initially approved for those years.
00:49As of June this year, RM1.9 billion of the RM2.1 billion allocated for rural road projects had already
00:57been spent.
00:59Johan said each ministry was responsible for planning and managing its expenditure based on the annual budget approved by Parliament.
01:08He explained that payment constraints arose because the current year's allocation had been almost fully used.
01:15The Treasury is now working with the Rural and Regional Development Ministry to resolve the issue, including by reallocating funds
01:24based on priorities.
01:26Johan said an additional RM300 million had been approved this year to help settle outstanding payments.
01:33The Treasury is also identifying savings from other ministries to help cover the ministry's excess commitments.
01:41Yesterday, Rural and Regional Development Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi voiced frustrations over the delays, saying some contractors had been forced
01:50to shut down, despite completing work and meeting project milestones.
01:55Nathaniel Aiko, FMT.
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