Approved septic tank replacement projects cancelled

KUCHING: The septic tank replacement projects for PPR Taman Sri Wangi, RPR Tondong, both in Kuching and RPR Sibujaya, Sibu have been cancelled by the federal Ministry of Housing and Local Government.

The cancellation of the three projects costing about RM2 million was announced by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government via a letter dated Sept 24, 2018 signed by the divisional secretary of the ministry, Noreha Muslim.

The letter referred to an email from one Ahmad Fadzlan Mustapha dated July 16, 2018 to their Sarawak counterpart, which informed that the ministry had approved the three projects at an allocation of RM2,043,950.86 for 2018.

The projects, however, were scrapped due to a new directive issued by Ministry of Finance Malaysia on July 16, 2018 that instructed every project that had not been issued with Surat Setuju Terima (SST) be cancelled.

Minister of Local Government and Housing Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, when contacted by The Borneo Post online, revealed that the cancelled project would be financed by the Sarawak government.

“The septic tank replacement project @ RPR Tondong - which funding was cancelled by the federal government recently - is awarded to new contractor through open tender by Sarawak Housing Corporation through Sarawak Government fund,” he said.