‘Don’t compare 1.95% with 53.8%’: PKR Youth hits back at Akmal over KKDW spending

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR Youth information chief Danish Hairudin has hit back at Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Akmal Saleh over his defence of the Rural and Regional Development Ministry’s (KKDW) spending, saying the comparison with the Education Ministry was misleading and failed to account for the huge difference in overspending.

Danish said Akmal’s reference to the Education Ministry’s 2024 expenditure was factually correct, but accused him of leaving out a crucial figure — the ministry’s actual overspending was only about 1.95% of its allocation.

This, he said, was in stark contrast to KKDW, which recorded spending significantly above its allocations for three consecutive years.

“KPM in 2024: 1.95% above allocation. KKDW in 2024: 53.8% above allocation. The difference is almost 28 times,” he said in a statement.

According to figures issued by the Finance Ministry, Danish said KKDW was allocated RM1.1 billion in 2023 but spent RM1.8 billion, exceeding its allocation by 63.6%.

In 2024, the ministry was allocated RM1.3 billion but spent RM2 billion, or 53.8% above its allocation.
The following year, KKDW received RM1.6 billion but spent RM2.3 billion, representing an excess of 43.8%.

“This is not a small difference. The gap is enormous,” Danish said.

He also questioned KKDW’s spending on rural road projects this year, saying the ministry had already spent RM1.9 billion out of RM2.1 billion allocated as of June — meaning more than 90% of the annual allocation had been utilised halfway through the year.

Danish said the figures raised legitimate questions over how the ministry’s expenditure had been planned and managed.

He also cited the Finance Ministry’s position that there had been no restriction on KKDW’s rural road allocation, which had been fully channelled to the ministry.

The ministry’s payment constraints involving contractors, he said, were instead attributed to the current year’s allocation having been almost fully utilised.

Danish added that the Finance Ministry had approved an additional RM300 million in 2026 to help settle outstanding payments to contractors.

He said the issue should therefore not be framed as though projects had been approved but the Finance Ministry had deliberately withheld funding from KKDW.

“If there are approved projects facing funding or payment issues, there is a proper channel to resolve them.

“The Umno president is also the Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the Cabinet. Bring the list of projects to the Cabinet meeting — identify the projects, their value, approval dates, expenditure to date and the amount still required,” he said.

Danish stressed that the Cabinet should be the first avenue for resolving disputes involving government allocations, rather than using the media as a platform for disagreements between members of the administration.

“The Cabinet is where the government finds solutions. The media is not the negotiating table for members of the government,” he said.

Taking another swipe at Akmal, Danish said the Umno leader should ensure his own arguments were firmly grounded in the figures before criticising others.

“Before trying to turn PMX into XPM, perhaps Akmal should first make sure his own argument does not turn from ‘fact’ into ‘fiction’,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Danish said Kamil Munim was merely carrying out his responsibility by raising questions on government spending and accountability.
“Akmal, if you want to lecture others on government finances, go ahead. But before teaching others, look at the figures all the way through.

“Because 1.95% and 53.8% are simply not the same thing,” he said.

He ended with a sarcastic jab at Akmal, saying that if figures so far apart were being equated, “perhaps it is not Kamil who needs to be questioned”.

“Maybe Akmal’s calculator needs a new battery,” he said.