Lim Guan Eng calls for MACC action on Zahid over RM2.1b ministry overspending, cites UiTM precedent
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng has urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to initiate an investigation into Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over an alleged RM2.1 billion budget overrun at the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW).
In a statement today, Lim said the anti-graft agency should apply the same rigorous enforcement standards to KKDW as it did in its recent probe into Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), where management was found to have channelled nearly RM260 million into its investment arm, UiTM Holdings, without the required approval from the Ministry of Finance.
Citing official Finance Ministry figures, Lim noted that KKDW spent RM1.8 billion in 2023 against an approved budget of RM1.1 billion. In 2024, the ministry expended RM2 billion against a RM1.3 billion allocation, followed by RM2.3 billion spent against an approved RM1.6 billion in 2025.
Lim said that the cumulative overspending totalled RM2.1 billion across the three-year period, all during Ahmad Zahid’s tenure as rural and regional development minister, stressing that unapproved overspending had not occurred prior to 2023.
“Such conduct by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is irresponsible as it violates existing financial procedures and regulations, which could warrant enforcement under the relevant laws,” he said, adding that decisive action is essential to deter other federal ministries from committing similar fiscal breaches.
Lim warned that the MACC risks facing public accusations of selective prosecution and double standards if it hesitates to act against Ahmad Zahid and KKDW “because of his high position”, calling such inaction fundamentally unfair to the management of UiTM.
Lim pointed to findings by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which discovered that UiTM management injected approximately RM260 million into UiTM Holdings in stages between 2007 and 2018 without Treasury clearance, resulting in accumulated losses of RM157.04 million across financial years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.
According to the PAC, RM42 million designated for a 50-megawatt solar development in Gambang, Pahang, was diverted for unrelated operational expenses without the authorisation of the company’s board of directors.
Lim added that strict governance is needed to safeguard UiTM’s increased RM3.08 billion budget allocation for 2026.
The DAP advisor’s statement comes on the heels of enforcement action by the MACC over the financial losses at UiTM Holdings.
The commission confirmed that a former senior corporate executive in his 50s was arrested at his residence in the Klang Valley on Sept 28 and is expected to be charged in court this Thursday.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly authorised operational expense payments in 2017 amounting to approximately RM42 million to several companies in which he held a beneficial interest.
MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman confirmed the arrest, stating that the case is being investigated under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 for abuse of power to obtain gratification.
