Sabah and Sarawak Minister urges higher or steady development funds in 2027 budget

Datuk Mustapha Sakmud, the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Minister, appealed to budget planners to keep development allocations for Sabah and Sarawak at current levels or raise them slightly in the 2027 budget, arguing that the states still lack essential infrastructure and face recurring floods. He made the remarks after handing out disaster relief to constituents in Sepanggar at the Kampung Rampayan community hall, stressing the need to address road and water deficiencies.

Mustapha urged the Works Ministry, contractors and relevant agencies to act on the Auditor-General’s recommendations for the Pan Borneo Highway, a decade-long project that has reached only 11 % completion. He emphasized using the audit findings as lessons to prevent similar issues in future projects. The minister also pressed for the prioritisation of Phase 2 of the Kampung Rampayan flood mitigation scheme, which builds on an almost-finished Phase 1 announced in Budget 2026 and aims to curb floods along the Rampayan River. He said he had discussed accelerating the project with the Economy Minister.