KOTA KINABALU – A former director of Yayasan Sabah has rubbished allegations that the government foundation only had RM60 million left when Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) took power last year.
Datuk Jamalul Kiram Hj Zakaria said that Yayasan Sabah had RM460 million when he served in the position under the former state administration ruled by Warisan Plus.
The Warisan Plus government was in power for 26 months from 2018 until last year.
Jamalul was commenting on remarks by NGO Gerakan Anti Rasuah Malaysia (Geram), which claimed the foundation only had RM60 million left from around RM500 million previously.
“The reserve included RM300 million from Innoprise Corporation Sdn Bhd, which is the investment arm of Yayasan Sabah.
“During the tenure of the Warisan-led government, the bulk of expenses went to paying debts that were a legacy of mismanagement by the previous Barisan Nasional government,” he said here today.
An example of the mismanagement was the cost variance in completing the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) project from RM530 million, which eventually came to a whopping RM850 million, he said.
The SICC is a waterfront facility project that was kicked off before the fall of the BN government and completed at the end of the Warisan era.
“The foundation had no option but to obtain a loan of RM300 million to ensure the completion of the SICC project,” he said.
He said the Warisan-led government had also settled backdated salary payments for staff at Universiti College Sabah Foundation and Yayasan Sabah Technical College.
On another matter, Jamalul said former chief minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Shafie Apdal had not awarded any timber concessions as the BN government had already selected a privileged few to contractually carry out logging for up to 50 and 100 years.
“This timber cartel made astronomical profits that could have been put to better use as scholarships for Sabahan students or proper healthcare for rural communities,” he said.
In the instance of Yayasan Sabah House, Jamalul said it was left in a shockingly dilapidated state when the Warisan-led government came to power in 2018, adding that the house was then renovated to become the official residence of the chief minister, and is now where the current chief minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, resides.
Jamalul, who became Yayasan Sabah director shortly after Warisan took power in 2018, was replaced by Kawang assemblyman Datuk Ghulam Haidar Khan Bahadar in November last year.
Meanwhile, Jamalul advised Geram to instead follow up on a legal suit filed by Yayasan Sabah last year against former chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman.
“Why was the case suddenly dropped after GRS took over the reins of the government? Doesn’t his case merit investigation by the MACC, too?” he said.
Jamalul is referring to the RM875 million suit filed by Yayasan Sabah in June last year to recover monies lost when Musa had been the foundation’s board of trustees chairman between 2003 and 2018.
Yayasan Sabah had alleged that Musa had engaged in an elaborate scheme for personal gains where defined areas within a timber concession would be systematically sold off to selected timber firms. – The Vibes, March 31, 2021
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