Shafie lied to people about State Govt revenue – Ramlee

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal has blatantly lied to the people when he said the Sabah State Government revenue back in 1978 was almost the same as the 2018 budget revenue of about RM4.1 billion recently announced by Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman.

Assistant Minister of Finance Datuk Ramlee Marahaban said Shafie’s statement that the Sabah State Government revenue had been stagnant the last 40 years at RM4 billion was done with malicious intent to mislead the people.

He said a simple check with the Sabah Minister of Finance's archive department showed that the Sabah state revenue in 1978 was RM479,027,790 and Federal grants, contributions and reimbursements was RM45,790,248, which give a total revenue for the year at RM524,818,038.

“I have the historical records to prove this. So, where in the world did Shafie Apdal and the former State Accountant General Ibrahim Menudin get the revenue figure of RM4 plus billion in the year 1978?” he asked.

Shafie in a recent online publication ridiculed the recently unveiled Sabah State government budget for being "nothing great" and he was not impressed and the people should be unimpressed too.

Ramlee said Shafie’s claims that the Sabah State revenue stood at RM4 plus billion was outlandish, considering the revenue of the Federal Government of Malaysia back in 1981, just three years after 1978 was only RM6 plus billion.

“If Shafie wants to lie, at least be smart about it. There are historical records in the archive you can’t dispute. He either did not do his homework or was intentionally trying to hoodwink the people, especially those in the rural areas, who he thinks can be easily duped,” he said.

Ramlee who is also Bugaya assemblyman, said the current Sabah State administration managed to improve Sabah State’s economy by more than 10 folds in 40 years since the Berjaya government in 1978.

He said the Sabah Ministry of Finance under Musa had performed exceedingly well whereby the budget revenue which stood at RM1.24 billion in 2001 grew to RM1.56 billion in 2003 and subsequently to RM2.33 billion in 2008, touched RM3.69 billion in 2012 and surpassed the RM4 billion mark at RM4.58 billion in 2014.

He further commented that in the last four years, the State budget had consistently stayed close to the RM4 billion mark.

“Moreover, it should be noted that Sabah State finances under Musa has achieved a surplus account for 16 years in a row. So, please give credit where credit is due. Even if Shafie is reluctant to do so, at least don’t lie about it (the budget)” he said.

He cautioned the people

against this type of leader, who because of a case of sour grapes, was willing to stoop so low to try and change history for his own personal agenda.

“Shafie wants to make Sabah like Singapore? What a joke. He could not even take care of one ministry when his allegiance was to the Barisan Nasional. Now that he has abandoned all that he swore to protect, he cannot even be trusted with the truth. He lies through his teeth and nose without even blinking his eyes,” he said.