This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 20, 2023 - February 26, 2023

Last week, the Auditor-General’s (AG) Report 2021 revealed that Malaysia lost a whopping RM799.34 million because a partially completed monorail project in Putrajaya was suspended in 2004. It was previously reported that the move was made during former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s tenure due to budgetary issues.

The project had been carried out mid-way with certain infrastructure, including tunnels and overhead bridges built, before it was halted, becoming an eyesore.

As the project failed to take off, it reportedly affected the feasibility of the city’s bus services on which the government had spent RM118.1 million, as well as the use of related facilities such as the park-and-ride, the AG report further revealed. Two park-and-ride sites developed at a cost of RM58.54 million were also not used for the original purpose, and now a part of the development has been changed into a site for night markets.

This calls into question the future of the monorail project. Is it time to revisit the project or is Putrajaya willing to let it languish as is? Will anyone be held accountable for what happened? The audit itself involved 10 agencies, including the Ministry of Federal Territories, Putrajaya Corp — the owner of the monorail project — the Ministry of Transport, PLANMalaysia, Putrajaya Public Works Department, Department of Lands and Mines, Property Management Division and Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd.

As an astonishing amount of RM799.34 million has been expended with no corresponding benefit to show, this matter must not be taken lightly or swept under the carpet. The implementation of proper study, reporting and monitoring mechanisms would go a long way in preventing the recurrence of such incidences, instead of basing it on a decision by the government of the day. Taxpayers are owed an explanation.

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