Finance Ministry suspends funds for multi-billion ringgit flood mitigation projects pending review of direct nego contracts

December 6, 2022

Finance Ministry suspends funds for multi-billion ringgit flood mitigation projects pending review of direct nego contracts

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 6 — The Finance Ministry (MOF) has been ordered to pause channelling funds for RM7 billion out of the RM15 billion flood mitigation projects announced by the previous Ismail Sabri administration.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also in charge of the finance ministry portfolio, told reporters today that he gave the suspension order to conduct a full review of contracts that had been awarded through direct negotiations, for possible procedural breaches.

“It is not a small sum and problems arise when rules are not followed and there exist opportunities to be taken advantage of,” he told a press conference here after clocking in to the Finance Ministry for the first time.

Anwar said MOF officials had briefed him that some RM7 billion out of the RM15 billion allocated had been approved and awarded without undergoing tender.

The federal government’s flood mitigation project 2030 had been announced by the previous finance minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz in October during the tabling of Budget 2023 as part of Malaysia’s a long-term strategy to deal with climate change.

Anwar said the possible breaches were regrettable, but expressed his gratitude to senior MOF officials for raising the matter to his attention.