KUCHING – Sarawak’s Gabungan Parti Sarawak government should be more truthful regarding the state’s financial health, said DAP Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen.
He said this after the state government tabled a surplus budget, which affects the state reserves.
Chong had earlier alleged that the state government had not revealed the whole truth on the state’s financial health.
“According to the Auditor-General’s Report, the Sarawak budget for 2018 and 2019 were all deficit budgets,” said Chong.
“The state government anticipated revenue collections of RM7.2 billion in 2018, but the expenditure for the year was RM10.86 billion, while in 2019 the revenue collection was RM7.26 billion against an expenditure of RM10.86 billion.
“It turns out that the state government has experienced a deficit of around RM2 billion in these two years,” he said in his Sarawak budget debate at the Sarawak state assembly today.
Chong said the overspending had affected the state reserves, and that the RM39.4 billion the state had at the end of 2015 decreased to RM29.36 billion in 2016.
In 2017, the state had RM30 billion in reserves, but it slumped to RM27.09 billion in 2018 and to RM23.96 billion last year.
“I am wondering why these figures were not revealed to us when past budgets were tabled. Why were they not disclosed? We are still under the impression that Sarawak has over RM30 billion in reserves,” said Chong, adding that the state has the most reserves compared with other states in Malaysia.
Chong also pointed out that the Sarawak government also has loans that need repayment.
He pointed to a USD$350 million (RM1.4 billion) loan with a guaranteed fixed rate of 5.92%, USD$800 million (RM3.3 billion) secured notes, and Sukuk Murabahah worth RM1.5 billion, among others, adding that the Sarawak government has to set aside more than RM1 billion just for the loan repayments.
“Having said all that, it is my hope the government can be more frank on budget reporting,” he said.
Chong also questioned the RM180 million surplus in the state’s 2021 budget tabled by Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg.
He said most nations were now putting forward a deficit budget to cope with the pandemic’s impact on the economy, but Sarawak had instead gone for a surplus budget while its economy was in recession.
“This is not the time for a surplus budget. Running one does not make sense at this point of time,” said Chong as he proposed an additional RM1 billion allocation to save Sarawak small and medium enterprises now struggling to keep afloat due to the pandemic’s effect on the state economy. – The Vibes, November 11, 2020
