Minor infrastructure project transfer; Right step to expedite rural development

KUALA LUMPUR - The move to transfer minor infrastructure projects, currently under the purview of the Public Works Department (JKR) to other departments is seen as the right decision, especially to facilitate planning and expedite development project implementation in rural areas.

Sabah Rural Development Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim said the move will enable minor infrastructure projects to be coordinated with district offices, and reduce the workload of JKR.

"What the people of Sabah, especially those living in rural areas, really need is development, especially involving public facilities, so all parties should take the Prime Minister's recommendations seriously,” he said when contacted by Bernama.

On Monday (June 12), Anwar, when speaking at the Prime Minister's Department monthly assembly, said that minor infrastructure projects, such as repairs of dilapidated schools, currently under the JKR’S supervision, will be transferred to other departments or the district office.

Commenting on the matter, Melaka JKR director, Datuk Ir Ismail Abd Rahman, said that his department remains ready to follow the instructions given to implement any project, even if these small-scale projects are handed over to other departments.

"Perhaps, there are minor projects that are carried out by other departments themselves, especially the state health department and education department, as they have their own engineering units.

"However, sometimes, JKR also receives requests from the health department and the education department to monitor their projects,” he said.

Meanwhile, Penang Infrastructure and Transport Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari, said that he was waiting for further clarification from the state JKR regarding the type of infrastructure projects which will be transferred to other departments or district offices.

A similar decision reached Sarawak in January when Anwar announced that the government had agreed to allow the state government to approve and implement federal projects worth RM50 million and below.

Its Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas was also reported to have said through the announcement the federal government has allocated RM1.09 billion to Sarawak through the JKR to carry out 92 projects under the Third Rolling Plan of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).

"For this year, a total sum of RM795.71 million is approved for the implementation of land and riverine infrastructure, government and public buildings projects, and as of April this year, RM93.77 million or 12 per cent of the amount, has been utilised,” he said.

He said that Sarawak JKR was also entrusted to maintain 7,091 kilometres of village roads, registered under the Malaysian Road Records Information System (Marris), in the state.

"Currently, state JKR is carrying out its maintenance works based on an ‘as and when required’ basis for village roads,” he added.

Meanwhile, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam’s College of Built Environment’s senior lecturer, Dr Muhammad Azwan Sulaiman, said that the move can also be seen to ensure that each project is more suitable and meet the needs of a department when it is managed by them.

"Perhaps after this, there will be a better understanding when it comes to the needs and requirements of the department, as the department is the end user itself, making a project more efficient and completed quickly.

"Similarly, for a project to be transferred to the land and district office, there may be some projects which are better understood by them, as they know about the developments in the district,” he said.

However, he still thinks that even though the projects are transferred, monitoring still needs to be carried out, especially from the technical aspect, particularly involving building structures, because this is JKR's expertise. - BERNAMA