KUCHING, Jan 6 — Works Minister Baru Bian today clarified that his statement on state governments should use the excess fund for repair works of federal roads from grants under the Malaysian Road Records Information System (Marris) for maintenance of state roads was merely a suggestion.
“What I was saying in Penang two days ago was that some states have excess fund left from the Marris grants and they put this in banks as fixed deposits. So why not use this excess fund for maintenance of federal roads?” he asked at a press conference at the Padungan Community Hall where he and his wife Yu Cheng Siew had a Christmas Open House.
“In the past, some states did not spend all the grants released to them under Marris for maintenance of state road. Instead they put the unspent money as fixed deposits,” he said.
Baru was criticised for his remarks by his critics in Sarawak, including his predecessor Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Baru said his ministry cannot force state governments to use the excess fund if they do not want to.
“We have to give and take. We have to work together,” he said, explaining that the federal government has limited funds at the moment.
Baru said he is very much aware on the use of the Marris fund by state governments.
“Once funds under Marris is released to the state governments, the federal government cannot take back the money,” he said.
Yesterday, Fadillah, who was the Works Minister under the previous Barisan Nasional government had told Baru that it was the prerogative of the states if they wanted to use the fund to maintain federal roads, not for the federal government to decide.
He stressed that Marris was a compulsory allocation to state governments to maintain all registered state roads.
