Road maintenance cuts threatened for Malaysia

Highway managers in Malaysia face having their road maintenance funding slashed if they do not spend their current budgets. In a surprise announcement this week, the Malaysian government warned that states which “fail to manage and utilise funds allocated for road maintenance from the Federal Government risk having their provisions reduced in the future.”
August 6, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

Highway managers in Malaysia face having their road maintenance funding slashed if they do not spend their current budgets. In a surprise announcement this week, the 3491 Malaysian Government warned that states which “fail to manage and utilise funds allocated for road maintenance from the Federal Government risk having their provisions reduced in the future.”

Prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak is worried that a huge surge in road maintenance funding is not being properly invested. Currently, he said, US$ 828.2 million (RM2,591.3 million) is being allocated by the Malaysian government for road maintenance, compared with US$347.6 million (RM1,087.5 million) six years ago.

“This is an increase of 138%” since 2006, says the prime minister. “On average, the allocation has been increased by 27.6% per annum. However, we find that most of the states have not fully spent the allocation given to them so this situation must be addressed.”

Najib has announced that a “lab” review to develop “comprehensive guidelines on highway management procedures and the proper use of the country’s state road maintenance grant” will take place in October 2012.

“The lab sessions will come up with guidelines to address the issues at hand, and after that, any state that fails to manage this provision well enough may face reduction in the grant (in the future),” the prime minister told reporters after chairing the Malaysian National Finance Council Meeting 2012 this week.

He said the lab reviews will also be asked to “identify the reasons why some states have not fully utilised the grants allocated to them.” The review will report before the end of this year. Prime minister Najib also said that the Malaysian National Finance Council also took note of the auditor-general’s report on the State Road Maintenance Trust Account (Kumpulan Wang Amanah Penyelenggaraan Jalan Raya Negeri) and the Malaysian Road Record Information System (Marris). He said that he is concerned about a report from the country’s Ministry of Finance that has identified “matters which need to be addressed concerning the safety and comfort of road users.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Malaysia’s road fatality rate increasing
    July 14, 2014
    Research carried out by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (Miros) reveals cause for concern with an expected increase in the annual fatality rate. The number of road crash deaths in the country currently stands at an average of 18 people/day. But that rate is expected to increase to an average of 29/day according to the research. In 2020, the annual death toll on the country’s road network is expected to hit 10,716 compared with the 6,915 deaths/year recorded in recent years. Of the total number of fat
    Read More
  • TRA 2014 showcases the best of cutting-edge transport research and thinking
    July 1, 2014
    Despite tight finances due to the current global economic climate, the recent Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2014 show in Paris showed how innovative transport research, largely using cutting-edge ITS, is creating safer and smarter highways of the future. Guy Woodford reports How far can you drive around a car race track with no other vehicles on it on half a glass of fuel while attempting to maintain a speed of 60kph? After taking up the challenge offered by the Eco Driving Simulator using SiVIC (Simulatio
    Read More
  • Aecon pulls out of Canada-US Gordie Howe Bridge project
    May 8, 2018
    Canadian construction company Aecon has withdrawn from a private group competing to construct and operate the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Canada and the US. Aecon’s departure comes only weeks before the Canadian government plans to announce the winning group. Construction of the bridge - costing more than US$3.7 billion and between Windsor in Canada’s Ontario province and Detroit in the US state of Michigan - is scheduled to start in the autumn 2018. Aecon’s chief executive reportedly denied
    Read More
  • Malaysia’s road safety worsening
    February 16, 2016
    The latest official figures from Malaysia show a worrying increase in the country’s road crash rate. The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) shows that the number of reported road crashes increased by 2.74% to 489,606 in 2015, compared with 476,196 for 2014. Meanwhile there were 6,706 road fatalities in 2015. According to MIROS, 19.4% of these road crashes were as a result of vehicle defects or poor road conditions, with 80.6% caused by human error.
    Read More

Highlighted Content