The wider package covers village roads, street lighting, community facilities, clean water and electricity supply. The federal government says the road allocation compares with RM1.3 billion in 2022. Roads therefore account for about 70 per cent of the announced package.

For rural Sarawak, the relevant question is which communities and access routes will be included when individual projects are identified. The announcement does not provide a state-by-state breakdown, a Sarawak village list or construction dates.

This rural basic-infrastructure package should also be kept separate from the other RM3.3 billion announced for highway projects in Sabah and Sarawak. Identical headline amounts do not make them the same programme, and neither amount should be read as RM3.3 billion awarded solely to Sarawak.

The road budget describes planned funding, not completed access improvements. Village-level allocations, contracts and work schedules will show how much of the national package reaches communities in the state.