There’s a highway in Kelantan that spans just slightly over a round-trip from Shah Alam to Sogo, KL which remains incomplete for over a decade.<br /><br />Yes. You heard that right.<br /><br />It is called the Kota Bharu-Kuala Krai Highway or KBKK for short.<br /><br />Valued at RM2.7 billion, the construction of KBKK began in May 2012 where its ground-breaking ceremony was officiated by the then-deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.<br /><br />The construction of KBKK is divided into seven small packages and from 2012 to 2023, only two of the seven packages were completed in 2019.<br /><br />The delay apparently incurred the Kelantan government a total of RM60 million in debt which it was unable to service and has requested for the federal government to step in and essentially bail them out.<br /><br />On March 20, State Works, Infrastructure, Transport and Utilities Committee chairman Datuk Azami Mohd Nor told the state assembly that the federal government has agreed to take over the sick project.<br /><br />However, such assistance came with a catch; the federal government does not want to inherit the RM60 million debt in which the Kelantan government is pleading for a reconsideration.<br /><br />Apart from the costly delay, the KBKK was also mired in controversy, especially in 2022 when the-then Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa sent a “surat sokongan” or letter of support to back a company called Chengaljati Sdn. Bhd. <br /><br />For the uninitiated, despite him being federal territories minister, Annuar Musa is a Kelantanese, he was the MP for Ketereh – parliamentary constituency in Kelantan –, Chengaljati is a Kelantanese company and KBKK is a project in Kelantan.<br /><br />Gosh. This whole drama truly encapsulates the infamous Kelantan slogan, ‘sek kito jange pecoh’.<br /><br />So, Annuar Musa’s leaked letter of support caused storm because he had asked then-prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to award Chengaljati two packages of the KBKK project via direct negotiation instead of an open tender.<br /><br />For the record, open tender and direct negotiation are legal and widely practiced procurement methods across the globe but in Malaysia, the latter is dyed in a notorious hue due to it often being associated with political favouritism.<br /><br />Now back to the KBKK fiasco.<br /><br />What made Annuar Musa’s letter – dated May 22, 2022 – even more controversial was the fact that it predated the Works Ministry’s official procurement tender date which was July 21, 2022.<br /><br />Nonetheless, due to the public furore, the tender for the two packages was re-tendered in December 2022, following the rise of Pakatan Harapan – Barisan Nasional government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.<br /><br />Also interesting was the fact Chengaljati was one of the main sponsors of the Kelantanese Red Warriors football group back when Annuar Musa was leading the squad circa 2007 – 2010.<br /><br />So, against the backdrop of this whole debacle, should the federal government take over KBKK and bear its massive RM60 million debts?
