Warisan: Shelved Kogopon plant upgrade federal project, baseless accusations merely ‘GRS falsehoods’

KOTA KINABALU: Claims that the Parti Warisan-led Sabah government failed to proceed with Phase Two of the Kogopon Water Treatment Plant (LRA) upgrade are baseless and politically motivated, claimed Ahmad Hassan.

The Warisan supreme council member and former Papar MP said the accusation was intended to create a negative perception of Warisan’s administration and divert attention from the current government’s shortcomings.

Azrul Ibrahim, who is political secretary to the chief minister, had claimed in a statement said the project should have been implemented earlier but was not continued by Ahmad, who was the area’s MP then.

However, Ahmad hit back by pointing out parliamentary records showing the Kogopon Phase Two project was a federal initiative approved under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP).

Citing the Hansard of the Dewan Rakyat dated Nov 21, 2018, he said the project involved increasing the plant’s capacity from 40 million litres per day (MLD) to 80 MLD with an estimated cost of RM312 million.

Ahmad said during the November 2019 parliamentary sitting, he had personally sought an update on the project and was informed that it had been included under Rolling Plan 4 of the 11MP.

Further clarification was provided by the federal government through the Dewan Rakyat Hansard dated Nov 24, 2020, which stated that a project consultant had been appointed on Jan 19, 2020 and that the project was already at the tender stage.

“Based on these official records, how can Azrul claim that the project was cancelled or postponed by the Sabah state government under Warisan? he questioned.

Ahmad explained that progress on the Kogopon Phase Two project was disrupted by several factors, including delays in federal funding, the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, and the collapse of the Warisan state government in July 2020.

Although the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) administration took over the state government later in 2020, Ahmad pointed out construction of the project only began in August 2023, at a time when water supply disruptions in Papar district had become critical.

He also criticised current Papar MP Datuk Armizan Ali for portraying himself as the key figure behind the project’s implementation while, at the same time, accusing Warisan of having cancelled it.

According to Ahmad, similar allegations had already been raised ahead of the 17th Sabah State Election and were comprehensively addressed by Warisan treasurer and Darau assemblyman Azhar Matussin on Nov 3.

He accused Azrul of repeating what he described as “GRS falsehoods” propagated by paid cyber operatives to deflect public anger over the present administration’s failures.

“The state government should focus on responsibly resolving issues affecting the people instead of pointing fingers at others,” he stated.

He also cautioned Azrul, whom he described as a young leader, against resorting to falsehoods and political theatrics, stressing that it is the political secretary’s duty to safeguard the reputation of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor.