KUALA LUMPUR: A Sabah member of parliament has raised concerns that project approvals in his constituency are allegedly being granted only to Umno members.
Ranau MP Datuk Jonathan Yasin said this in his supplementary question during the Dewan Rakyat's oral question-and-answer session.
"I want to inquire about this… in Ranau, it appears that project approvals in Ranau are only given to those from Umno.
From 2022 to 2024, the same individuals keep receiving approvals.
"Our parliamentary office has not been considered.
"My officer visited the KPLB (Rural and Regional Development Ministry) office, but only projects signed off by the Umno division head are approved.
"So, how can we effectively govern if decisions are based on personal relationships rather than requests from elected representatives who have majority support from the voters but are still overlooked," he said.
In response, Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Rubiah Wang said: "For the approval of any project, we do not take political parties or similar factors into account.
"What we consider are the applications submitted based on date and time. Applications can be made to the state finance office, the district office, and directly from the MP to the ministry.
"Each application will be assessed and selected by the project evaluation committee. We do not consider applications based on political parties."
To the initial question from Jonathan, Rubiah said as of Nov 3, a total of RM1.2 million had been approved by the ministry for the Ranau constituency this year.
The approved rural connectivity road projects are for Kampung Tagudon Lama, Kampung Karanaan and Kampung Senaja Sinsilog.
Jonathan also asked for an update on the upgrade of roads in Kampung Giring Ranau, the streets in residential areas of Kampung Pinawantai, and Kampung Mengkapoh.
The request, he said, were submitted to the ministry on March 27, 2024, but to date, the ministry had yet to respond.
Rubiah said: "Applications that have been submitted will undergo a review and investigation process according to the scope of the applicable rural connectivity road guidelines.
"The applications mentioned above have been investigated and based on our records, the only application received is for the road project in Kampung Giring Ranau. This application will be considered based on priority, subject to the availability of funding for the rural connectivity road projects in Sabah."