GEORGE TOWN, Jan 4 ― The federal government is weighing the use of grants under the Malaysian Road Records Information System (Marris) to fund all road repair works, said Baru Bian.

The works minister that the Marris grants now only cover road repairs for registered state roads.

"The federal budget for maintenance and repair of roads is insufficient and we are facing a big challenge to come up with funds so using Marris grants is an option we can look into,” he said.

He said Marris grants should be used for repairs of federal roads and those in villages.

He said opening up the grants for all roads will also benefit rural areas such as in Sarawak where there are many village roads that are in bad shape.

Road grants under Marris are allocated to all states to repair state roads but due to the strict guidelines, the grants do not cover all road repair works.

The grants are often given out based on the length, width and grade of road being maintained.

Baru said he will be talking with state governments on using the Marris grants to repair federal and kampung roads.

"Some of these states have excess Marris funds so the funds can be used to repair and maintain all roads in the state, including federal roads,” he said.

About RM130 million is allocated to Penang under the Marris funds each year but their deployment is again limited by the strict criteria.

State exco Zairil Khir Johari had said the guidelines and conditions for applying for Marris grants needed to be updated and changed.

He said Marris grants were not approved for any slope failure that is 6m above a road or for road upgrading works.