SABAH Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun has once more shot down Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal’s claim that Warisan scrambled to raise RM600 million in under a year to clear a RM1 billion state bond in 2019.
The two leaders have exchanged statements in recent days over the repayment of the State Government of Sabah Bonds, issued under the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
Shafie, who was chief minister from 2018 to 2020, alleged that RM500 million from the bond proceeds was spent outside Sabah without a clear explanation.
The debt was settled during his tenure in 2019.
He said that when Warisan took office in 2018, the Sinking Fund, which was created to ensure full repayment at maturity, contained only RM400 million, well short of the RM1 billion needed to repay the principal to Putrajaya.
“This was barely 40% of what was needed to repay the bond principal, without even counting interest,” Shafie said in a statement on Tuesday.
“If they were so prudent, why was the Sinking Fund far short of the repayment amount by 2018? And why did so much of the borrowed money benefit another state instead of Sabah?” he asked.
Shafie said Warisan closed the shortfall through cost-cutting measures, stricter spending controls, and resource reallocation, while also covering interest payments.
Masidi described Shafie’s comments as misleading, saying the repayment plan had been in place since the bond’s issuance in December 2014.
Bank Negara Malaysia, he said, required RM200 million to be set aside annually over five years in a dedicated Sinking Fund, regardless of who was in government.
Official records, Masidi said, show staged contributions of RM2 million in 2016, RM200 million in 2017, RM400 million in 2018, and RM380 million in 2019, with the remaining RM18 million covered by interest from investments, taking the total to RM1 billion.
Masidi also rubbished the claim that RM500 million was spent in another state, calling it “unfounded and irresponsible”.
According to Masidi, RM544 million was used to repay an earlier state bond issued in 2009, while RM456 million funded state development projects under the approved 2014 budget.
“Repaying the bond on schedule was a legal and contractual obligation, not an act of goodwill.
“Public discussion on state finances must be anchored in documented facts, not politically convenient narratives,” he said.
Shafie had recently cited the RM1 billion bond settlement as proof the state could afford to write off educational loans for working graduates.
Masidi, however, has so far avoided engaging in that debate. - August 13, 2025
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