I will lodge a formal report today at the Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) Office requesting an investigation into Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s role in the RM2.1 billion expenditure discrepancy involving the Rural Roads Programme under KKDW.
On 1 October 2026, MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman said that MACC had only learned about the matter through the media and would investigate once an official complaint was received. That official complaint has now been lodged. MACC must keep its word and commence an independent investigation.
According to the Ministry of Finance, KKDW spent RM1.8 billion in 2023 against an approved annual allocation of RM1.1 billion, RM2 billion in 2024 against RM1.3 billion, and RM2.3 billion in 2025 against RM1.6 billion. The cumulative difference between the approved annual allocations and actual expenditure was RM2.1 billion.
The Ministry of Finance also stated that KKDW’s 2026 allocation had been almost fully spent by June, resulting in payment difficulties for contractors. An additional RM300 million was consequently approved, while savings from other ministries were being identified to cover KKDW’s excess commitments.
If KKDW did not exceed its available financial resources, Zahid must explain why contractors who had completed work were not paid and why the Ministry of Finance had to provide another RM300 million and look for savings from other ministries.
This investigation should determine whether contracts and financial commitments were entered into before sufficient funding was lawfully approved, whether any person abused his position to direct or approve those commitments, and whether there were irregularities in the selection of contractors, contract awards, payment certification or financial records.
MACC should obtain all relevant Treasury warrants, internal transfer approvals, NOC approvals, financial reconciliations and contract records. It should establish when every allocation adjustment was approved and whether those approvals were obtained before or only after contractual liabilities had accumulated.
No direct supplementary appropriation for KKDW under B.22 or P.22 was identified in the supplementary estimates reviewed for 2023, 2024 and 2025. If the additional funding came from lawful transfers within KKDW’s existing parliamentary appropriation, the relevant documents should be produced. If KKDW’s total expenditure exceeded the amount authorised by Parliament, the authorities must explain why the constitutional process for supplementary or excess expenditure was not followed.
The repeated expenditure discrepancies, unpaid contractors, additional funding and unexplained revisions provide sufficient grounds for MACC to investigate whether corruption, abuse of power, conflicts of interest, procurement irregularities or concealment were involved.
I urge the MACC to establish the facts without fear or favour. If evidence of an offence exists, action must be taken regardless of position or political status.