GEORGE TOWN:The federal government might ask state governments to help maintain federal and rural roads using federal grants given to them to maintain state roads.
Works Minister Baru Bian said he would talk to state governments about the possibility of the proposal, citing allocation constraints.
“I am sure there can be some leeway and we can cooperate with state governments, given the economic challenges.
“Finding maintenance funds for federal roads has been a problem, and we hope to resolve it this way,” he said in a press conference at the Malaysian Highway Authority northern region office here today.
Later, Baru clarified that the ministry was hoping to tap into the federal grants received by states, to possibly use unused funds from these grants to maintain federal and rural roads.
Federal and rural roads are usually maintained through funds from the works ministry and the rural development ministry.
Funds for the maintenance of state roads come from the State Road Grants provision, under Article 109 (1) (b) of the Federal Constitution.
The funds are placed under Marris, or the Malaysian Road Records Information System. They are placed under a trust handled by the state governments.
Those seeking funds must apply for them. The money is given through grants, based on a pre-determined formula which calculates the length, width and grade of the road.
There are about 50,000km of federal roads in the country under the watch of the works ministry, excluding Sabah and Sarawak.
Federal routes are marked with numbers, while state roads are marked with an alphabet and a number. The alphabet denotes the state the road comes under.
In Penang, besides the state, the Public Works Department and the Drainage (PWD) and Irrigation Department (DID) also apply for Marris funds. DID is responsible for maintaining 30% of the total number of roads, the majority of which run through rice fields.
The other roads in Penang are municipal roads, which are maintained by local councils.
Asked if the federal government would allocate more funds to maintain Penang’s state roads, Baru said this would be difficult as the government is currently cutting expenses.
He said opening Marris funds to all roads would be the best idea. It would be highly beneficial for road maintenance in rural areas, especially in Sarawak’s “Jiwa Murni” roads, which are said to be in a bad state.
Baru said most of the rural roads in Sarawak were built by the federal government but were not given Marris funds for their maintenance. He said, logically, Marris funds should be available to carry out repairs to all roads.
He was happy to hear that Sarawak had changed the rules to make “Jiwa Murni” or kampung roads eligible for Marris funds.
Baru is in town for a working visit after the introduction of toll-free rides for motorcycles using both the bridges linking the island to the mainland from Jan 1.