SABAH would emulate “Ah Long” to recover millions owed to the Sabah Development Bank by peninsula-based companies, state Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said.
He said peninsula-based firms make up 60% of the bank’s loan portfolios, with much of them created when Sabah was under Barisan Nasional rule.
“Warisan inherited the bad loans, and now it is Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s (responsibility).
“The difference is, we decided to become unpopular and grabbed the bull by the horns. We know this is a problem. It is a big problem.
“I inherited this problem but I decided not to run away from it. I am trying to solve it. But let this be a lesson for all of us.
“These firms could not get loans in the peninsula so they came to Sabah to get them. Sometimes, I don’t understand… but we have become suckers (to these companies),” Masidi said when responding to a supplementary question by state opposition leader Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
Shafie (Senallang-Warisan) asked the state finance minister what Sabah was doing to recover the debt owed by these firms, calling them “scandalous”.
He cited one such company that took RM500 million from the Sabah Development Bank to purchase land in Johor at an inflated price.
Shafie’s question stemmed from Masidi’s response that the Sabah Development Bank has racked up a RM2.2 billion debt by September, mostly by Sabah government linked-companies (GLCs).
While the state government would be responsible for debt generated by GLCs, Masidi said debt owed by peninsula-based companies won’t be “white-washed”, and that the troubled Sabah Development Bank has been restructured.
“We have a new team and we will be tough against those who owe us money. We are trying to clean up the bank’s balance sheets and non-performing loans.
“We have hired a new officer who has a reputation like an ‘Ah Long’ (debt collector) and will recover as much of the money owed as possible,” said Masidi.
He said a challenge was that collateral values were lower than the amount these companies borrowed.
To another question, Masidi said the government would not hesitate to report abuses committed by troubled Sabah GLCs to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
Meanwhile, Masidi (Karanaan-GRS) defended the decision of the state’s oil and gas firm – SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd – to take over debt-ridden Sabah International Petroleum (SIP).
He said SIP owed RM1.2 billion to Sabah Development Bank and SMJ Energy has paid RM700 million of the RM900 million set to acquire the ailing firm.
“When we (SMJ Energy) buy SIP for RM900 million, SIP will pay its debts to Sabah Development Bank. This means the debt would be settled and the bank would be recapitalised.
“SIP has 10% stake in LNG9, which gave RM200 million in dividends (to the state) last year. We expect the same payment for the next 13 years.
“We took over not an empty firm, a company with an income of at least RM200 million a year,” he said. – The Vibes, November 29, 2023.
