PAS Information Chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari has raised two possible explanations for the mounting payment arrears involving contractors carrying out projects under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry (KKDW).
Ahmad Fadhli said the first possibility was that the government was facing serious financial difficulties that had affected its cash flow, while the second was that payments were being deliberately delayed.
He suggested the latter could amount to an attempt to undermine the ministry, which is led by UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, particularly in the wake of the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.
“Don’t sabotage your own government. Even if the Madani Government is already on the brink, as long as its mandate remains, the administration of the country must function properly for the good of the people, regardless of political colours.
“Unless the Madani Government is no longer interested in governing the country, return the mandate to the people,” he said.
Ahmad Fadhli was responding to Zahid’s recent disclosure that numerous payments to contractors involved in KKDW projects had been left outstanding.
However, the Finance Ministry has denied that KKDW’s allocations had been blocked, saying there were no restrictions on funding for rural roads and that the allocations had been fully channelled.
Ahmad Fadhli described Zahid’s disclosure as surprising, saying the matter must have reached a serious stage for the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the minister overseeing KKDW, to raise it publicly.
“This is the first time Malaysians have witnessed a Deputy Prime Minister openly raising an issue involving governance under the Finance Minister, who is also the Prime Minister, without holding back,” he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
He questioned whether the developments pointed to growing tensions within the government.
“People are watching this drama with concern. Is the government actually in conflict with itself?” he said.
