Warisan refuses to yield in RM1 billion bond row with Masidi

SABAH opposition party Warisan has accused state Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun of “desperate spin” over his portrayal of a 2019 RM1 billion bond repayment as an automatic process.

In a statement, Merotai assemblyman and former assistant finance minister Sarifuddin Hata said that when Warisan took power in 2018, the sinking fund for the bond held only RM400 million.

He said this was far short of the RM800 million he claimed should have been accumulated if the previous Barisan Nasional government had truly set aside RM200 million annually.

“This gap of RM600 million was the result of weak fiscal discipline before Warisan formed the government,” he said, accusing Masidi of “cherry-picking” figures presented in past budgets.

The RM1 billion bond debt repayment to the federal government has generated quite a debate after Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal raised the matter in a recent political speech.

Masidi, who is both Sabah’s finance minister and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah secretary-general, traded barbs with Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal after the latter claimed his administration had managed to repay a RM1 billion state debt within just over a year in 2019.

Shafie cited this as proof that, if Warisan returned to power and with the state in a strong financial position, his government could abolish educational loans for local working graduates.

Masidi rejected the assertion, saying the repayments were made through a dedicated sinking fund — a requirement under Bank Negara Malaysia regulations, and were therefore an automatic process.

In refuting Masidi's claim, Sarifuddin insisted that Warisan had to clos the shortfall in less than 12 months without taking on new debt, cutting key development programmes, or burdening the public.

“If the repayment was ‘fully guaranteed’ as the minister claims, why was there a rush to top up the fund when we were in government?” he asked.

He also defended Warisan’s introduction of the state sales tax on petroleum products in April 2020, saying the legal framework was completed under its administration, even if Gabungan Rakyat Sabah later received the first payment.

Calling for a full accounting of how the bond proceeds were spent, Sarifuddin challenged Masidi and the GRS government to debate the matter openly in the state assembly, rather than “hiding behind carefully crafted press statements”.

“Until every project, location, contractor and beneficiary is disclosed, talk of ‘full accountability’ is meaningless,” he said, adding that an independent audit was the only way to end public speculation. - August 14, 2025