SANDAKAN: Warisan has denied claims that it was behind the cancellation of the RM4.06bil Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) project.
Its president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said the decision was made by the federal government and not by him when he was chief minister.
“It was not us who cancelled. The one who cancelled was the federal government. They borrowed money from China, billions, and when I was chief minister I was told that we had to pay.
“The money was already spent but the pipeline was not there,” he said during a meet-and-greet programme at Kenalanmu Seafood Restaurant in Sandakan on Friday (Sept 19) night.
He added that it was beyond his authority to reverse the decision.
“Why accuse me? How can I stop a Cabinet decision? The money was borrowed by the federal government. What is important is to investigate, take action. Who was the government at that time? Who was the economy minister then — from Sabah or from the peninsula?
“Action must be taken to find out where this money went,” he said.
Shafie said Sabah should not rely on abandoned projects such as the pipeline but instead look at long-term solutions, stressing that the east coast must develop its own generation sources rather than depend entirely on electricity transmitted from the west coast.
He noted that the recent blackout crisis, triggered by the collapse of a transmission tower in Kolopis on Sept 13, showed how a single disruption could plunge almost the entire east coast into darkness and cut off water supply.
“Why can’t we build a dam in Sabah? The Segama river is wide enough, and in Kinabatangan there are also suitable areas. If we build it, not even 10 years, not even five years, I am confident we can overcome problems of electricity, water, and even hydrogen.
“Today Sarawak is getting almost RM7bil from the Bakun dam. Imagine if we solve this problem, we not only increase revenue but also create job opportunities for our children in Sabah,” he said.
On Wednesday (Sept 17), Sabah Umno information chief Datuk Suhaimi Nasir blamed Shafie for the east coast blackouts, claiming the outages stemmed from his failure to defend the pipeline when he was chief minister.
Suhaimi said RM3.5bil, or 88% of the project cost, was already paid despite only 13% of physical work being done, and alleged Shafie “welcomed” the cancellation in 2018.
TSGP was launched in 2016 under the Barisan Nasional government as a long-term measure to secure energy supply for Sabah’s east coast, particularly Sandakan, Tawau and Kinabatangan.
It was cancelled in 2018 and, more recently, the federal government in February 2025 confirmed there were no plans to revive the project after issuing a suspension notice last July.
