SEBERANG PERAI — The Works Ministry has fully used its roughly RM2 billion allocation for road maintenance and aims to seek more allocation, Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said today.

However, he said the ministry needs about RM4 billion annually to carry out repairs more comprehensively.

“We spent all of the RM2 billion annually, we cannot keep it,” Ahmad said in a press conference after officiating the CIDB Northern Region Contractor Convention 2026: NexGen Builders at the PICCA Convention Centre @ Butterworth Arena here.

He said the ministry, its senior officials and the Works Minister were scheduled to meet Finance Minister II later today to seek additional funding for road maintenance needs.

He said this included asking for more funds to maintain damaged roads and improve safety for road users.“Hopefully, road maintenance allocations can be increased,” he said.

Ahmad said the ministry had to prioritise accident-prone locations, or accident hotspots, because available funding was insufficient to address every road maintenance need nationwide.

“We understand that we cannot obtain everything we need,” he said.

“What we do is give priority to hotspots and places where accidents frequently occur, to maintain them properly - whether through resurfacing works, road furniture maintenance or lighting maintenance,” he added.

He said the ministry could not illuminate every stretch of highway, but the Malaysian Highway Authority had been allocated 3,000 new highway lights this year.