Kedah Umno has questioned the Finance Ministry’s response to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s remarks over delays in payments to contractors.
Kedah Umno information chief Datuk Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin said it was inappropriate for a senior Treasury official to publicly respond to the deputy prime minister in such a manner.
“Kedah Umno takes the statement by the Treasury secretary-general, who claimed that the Rural and Regional Development Ministry had spent beyond its allocation, seriously,” he said in a statement today.
Shaiful said any explanation on the matter should have come from the finance minister or deputy finance minister.
He also questioned the claim that the Rural and Regional Development Ministry had overspent, saying the government’s financial system did not allow ministries to spend funds freely.
He said every project was subject to approval, specific allocation details and financial controls through the Integrated Government Financial Management and Accounting System.
“MoF cannot simply compare annual allocations with total expenditure without taking into account contractual commitments dating back to 2019 to 2021.
“Letters of acceptance were issued before the pandemic, while payment claims were carried forward to subsequent years when the projects resumed,” he said.
Shaiful said the government remained responsible for paying contractors once work had been completed, based on progress and existing contractual obligations.
He argued that these earlier commitments should not simply be described as the ministry having “overspent”.
Shaiful also disputed the Finance Ministry’s explanation concerning RM300 million, saying the amount was not a new additional allocation.
Instead, he said the funds were made available through a warrant of authority to allow spending on the afternoon of Sept 1, hours after Zahid raised the issue of delayed contractor payments that morning.
He added that the money was not paid directly by the ministry to contractors but channelled through the Public Works Department or agencies overseeing the projects.
“As such, the entire approval and payment chain needs to be explained,” he said.
Shaiful also questioned why the Rural and Regional Development Ministry should bear sole responsibility for outstanding payments when the projects had already been approved, letters of acceptance issued and work carried out.
He called on the Finance Ministry to provide a detailed breakdown of warrants, contractual commitments and actual disbursement records.
“It should not hide behind broad figures to cover up its own delays and shift the blame onto the rural ministry,” he said.
The remarks came after the Finance Ministry yesterday denied claims that budget cuts or restrictions had been imposed on the Rural and Regional Development Ministry’s allocation for rural road projects, saying all approved funds had been fully channelled.
Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Johan Mahmood Merican said recent payment delays to contractors occurred because the ministry had exhausted almost its entire current-year allocation after years of spending beyond its approved parliamentary budgets.
