‘Warisan reps did not receive allocation’
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan (Warisan) President Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal denied claims that state elected representatives from the opposition had received development allocation for their respective constituencies from the State Government.
Shafie, who is the Opposition chief, told reporters at the end of the State Assembly sitting here on Thursday there were allegations on social media that the opposition also received allocation from the state government.
“I want to clarify that this is not true. State elected representatives in the opposition did not receive any allocation. Maybe the allocation was channelled to the constituencies but we do not know to whom. Maybe through the respective district office or party representatives. The fact is we did not get any allocations,” the Senallang assemblyman stressed.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor when responding to Moyog assemblyman Datuk Darell Leiking, said the state government had fairly distributed the allotted special annual allocation to government and opposition assemblymen.
Hajiji had said the state Rural Development Ministry was given a special allocation of RM188.2 million.
Shafie also said good governance by the state government must be improved and leakages in the administration must be plugged.
“As the opposition, we offer constructive opinions so that good governance in the state can be realized and benefits the rakyat in Sabah. We will support decisions as long as they benefit the rakyat and the state,” he stressed.
Other issues which Shafie said concerned him were revenue to the state and the gold mining activities in Tawau.
Meanwhile, Darell in a statement claimed that there are conflicting statements made by an assistant minister in the State Assembly and the statement by the Chief Minister regarding the allocation of development funds to opposition constituencies in Sabah.
The Moyog assemblyman opined that the conflicting statement raised questions about the actual allocation and distribution of these funds.
“While the Chief Minister mentioned a significant allocation of RM188.2 million to Sabah assemblymen, there are conflicting statements by the assistant minister of rural development about whether these funds are exclusively for government representatives or include opposition members as the assistant minister mentioned the RM188.2 million is only for assemblymen in the government, not all assemblymen. Hence, there is no clear answer from the state government on this issue,” he said.
He also opined that the Chief Minister's announcement that funds allocated for opposition assemblymen will be directed to district offices raises questions about the nature of these allocations and their intended utilization.
“The government needs to provide clear and transparent information regarding the specifics of these allocations so that we may effectively inform the public. The public deserves to know how and what type of allocations can be utilized and how they can benefit from them. By providing clear guidelines and information, the government can foster transparency and trust in the allocation process.
“We also call for transparency regarding past allocations, including evidence of the RM2 million fund announced in 2021 and the RM12.41 million allocated to opposition constituencies in 2022 through Unit Pemimpin Pembangunan Masyarakat (UPPM). Additionally, we demand clarity on the recent announcement of RM188.2 million in development funds,” he said.
Darell added that the government should provide clear guidelines for accessing these funds to avoid confusion and ensure equitable treatment of all Sabahans, regardless of political affiliation.
“Also, we demand for the establishment of a Committee of Development in every district office and include opposition representatives, which could facilitate fair and transparent distribution by involving representatives from both government and opposition constituencies.
“We appreciate the Chief Minister's willingness to assist opposition assemblymen in accessing funds directly from the government as mentioned by him earlier. However, actions must follow with words, and we urge the immediate establishment of the proposed committee to expedite the process and address the urgent needs of the people,” he said.
Transparency, Darell pointed out, is essential in ensuring that development funds are utilized effectively for the benefit of all Sabahans.
“We call on the government to prioritize transparency and accountability in future allocations to build trust and confidence among the people. The government of the day is merely a trustee of the taxpayers' monies. Hence, the opposition representatives should have access to the allocation in the same manner as the government assemblymen,” he stressed.