GRS MPs urge PAC to expand probe into Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project

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GRS MPs urge Pan Borneo probe

Highlights

GRS MPs are urging the PAC to expand its investigation into the Sabah Pan Borneo project, including a review of earlier policy decisions alleged to have affected its implementation.
Armizan Mohd Ali stressed that the implications of ending the project delivery partner model on Sept 22, 2019, remain unclear in the Auditor-General's Report Series 2/2026, even though the ministry linked it to the causes of the delays.
Uncertainty over contractor management and the shift in the delivery method after the change of government in May 2018 was alleged to have halted the project for more than a year and driven up costs due to inflation and the Covid-19 pandemic.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Proposal to expand the scope of the PAC investigation

As reported by The Edge Malaysia, the memorandum will ask the PAC to broaden its investigation so that it examines not only the project's current status and performance, but also earlier policy decisions alleged to have affected its implementation.

The group's spokesperson, Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, said the PAC's decision on Oct 19 to investigate the project's management, financial governance and physical implementation following the tabling of the Auditor-General's Report Series 2/2026 was welcome. However, he said the scope of the investigation should cover four key factors relating to the termination of the project delivery partner model on Sept 22, 2019, to identify the true causes of the project's delays comprehensively.

Armizan said the first factor was the lack of clarity in the Auditor-General's Report Series 2/2026 regarding the implications of ending the model, even though official responses from the Ministry of Works in the House of Representatives on Aug 2, 2022, and Oct 19, 2026, cited the termination as one of the causes of the delays. He stressed that this was based on the government's official response, not merely a political claim.

Implications for costs, contractors and implementation

According to Armizan, the second factor was the need to clarify the basis for the federal government's decision to end the model in 2019, following a recommendation by the Sabah state administration at the time, including whether a comprehensive study had been conducted before the decision was made.

On the third factor, he said uncertainty over the status of the project delivery partner and contractor appointments following the change of government in May 2018 was alleged to have halted construction work on site for more than a year, before the existing contractors were reappointed under the conventional delivery method in 2019. The disruption was also alleged to have contributed to higher project costs, particularly as contractors faced rising construction material prices due to inflation and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the fourth factor concerned the disrupted process of reappointing existing contractors and appointing new ones following the transition from the project delivery partner model to the conventional method, which meant that some Phase 1A packages were not awarded until 2021. He said not only government agencies but also contractors should be called to give evidence so they can explain the pressures and issues they faced.

Armizan stressed that the GRS memorandum was not intended to find fault with any party, but rather to ensure that policy decisions concerning public infrastructure projects are not influenced by partisan political considerations to the detriment of their implementation.

As we have previously reported, the Parliamentary PAC investigation is examining delays to the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway following audit findings on governance and payments.

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