KUALA LUMPUR: Up to 350 projects under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry in Sabah are now on the radar of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over allegations of the embezzlement of RM1.5 billion in federal funds meant for rural development projects in the state.
The projects were carried out between 2010 and 2016 in nine districts in the state, including Kota Kinabalu, Kudat, Kota Belud, Ranau, Beaufort, Keningau, Lahad Datu, Tawau and Sandakan.
The MACC estimates that RM1.5 billion was siphoned off, out of the RM7.5 billion allocated for projects in Sabah involving water, electricity and road infrastructure development.
Of the RM7.5 billion allocation, it is believed that RM2 billion was channelled into 170 projects for developing clean water supply infrastructure; RM3.5 billion was allocated for 163 road infrastructure projects; and RM2.19 billion went into 17 electricity infrastructure projects.
It is learnt that the Ministry awarded the projects to 260 companies – but initial investigations by the MACC have revealed that the selection of 65 of the companies was made under dubious circumstances, as some were awarded with more than two projects.
The MACC on Saturday revealed that more than 60 companies are now under investigation.
When contacted by Berita Harian yesterday, MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Seri Azam Baki said they are trying to determine where the RM1.5 billion was siphoned off to and where it was spent.
"Our investigation is looking into the leakage and siphoning off of public funds provided by the Sabah state government for water, electricity and road infrastructure projects," he said.
Azam said that the MACC has identified 32 witnesses from various backgrounds to facilitate the probe, but no arrests have been made so far.
Translated from Berita Harian