Crucial for Sarawak to have fiscal flexibility — Soon Koh

KUCHING: The Sarawak government is compelled to take up a more robust and strategic way in managing its financial affairs in order to for it to have fiscal flexibility required in strategising and implementing its development programmes and projects.

In stating this, Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh believes that Sarawak is at a critical stage of development where it needs to ‘leapfrog' its infrastructure development throughout.

He says to do so would require significant resources and capital funding; hence, balancing the fiscal needs becomes critical at this juncture.

“We need to have the fiscal and financial flexibility to manage our resources.

“Managing fiscal and financial affairs of Sarawak, which is large and diverse in its geo-economic and socio-political landscapes where we have to balance the multiple demands against our economic agenda, is indeed a challenging and uphill task – I must say.

“In order to achieve this, we are compelled to take up a more robust and strategic effort in managing our financial affairs without compromising the practice of good governance, strict financial discipline and prudent financial management across all levels – and at all times,” he told the august House when delivering his ministerial winding-up speech during the DUN sitting yesterday.

Wong – also the International Trade and E-Commerce Minister – reiterated that leveraging on alternative financing to facilitate and expedite growth in Sarawak should be a sustainable platform to adopt.

“It will allow the state the fiscal flexibility required in strategising and implementing its development programmes and projects,” he said, pointing out that other countries such as Singapore and Japan are also sourcing funds from the capital market to facilitate growth.

Commenting further Wong, who is Bawang Assan assemblyman, stressed that any development development would require a considerable amount of expenditure at the outset of the project. The use of alternative funding, he added, would allow Sarawak to manage and balance its cash-flow requirements – strategically and efficiently.