KOTA KINABALU: The Housing and Local Government Ministry will watch all projects approved for Sabah like a hawk, says Minister Nga Kor Ming.
He said it was a fact there were several "sick" projects in the state, and the ministry was determined to put an end to such occurrences.
“I have inherited many sick projects in Sabah... we want to put a stop to this,” he told reporters, during the ministry’s Sentuhan Kasih tour at Luyang here on Friday (July 26).
“From this moment, we will monitor meticulously to ensure that there will be no more sick projects in Sabah or other states."
He said it was fortunate that none of the government projects in Sabah has been abandoned so far, and the issue only involved delays or projects not being implemented as scheduled.
“It’s good but we want better, and we want the best because we believe the ministry is a centre of excellence.
“It is a platinum-rated ministry. We are one of the best-performing ministries and feel obliged to keep this prestigious status,” he said.
Earlier, Nga announced that his ministry had approved 38 projects in Sabah with a total allocation of over RM217mil, with many scheduled for completion by December.
These projects involved public infrastructure development and upgrades, housing, landscaping, community well-being as well as financial aid for the repair and maintenance of non-Islamic houses of worship.
“This is to ensure the works can be completed (soon) for Sabahans to see for themselves the positive changes brought by the government,” he added.
Nga also said the ministry would monitor all local authorities under its purview with a focus on their performance and financial management.
Funds allocated to local authorities were performance- and merit-based with a set of KPIs for each, he added.