Sabah Umno: We did not mismanage state funds

KOTA KINABALU: The Auditor-General’s Report 2017 on Sabah which showed a surplus in the state consolidated funds is a clear repudiation of Parti Warisan Sabah-led government’s claims that the previous government mismanaged state funds, says state Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

In a statement, he said the latest Auditor-General’s report on Sabah finances also vindicated former chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman.

The 2017 report is a continuation of similar reports for the last 15 years under the tenure of Musa as Sabah’s finance minister, he said.

He said Musa even managed to present a surplus budget for 2018 despite the dismal price of oil then, and surplus accounts were recorded for 16 years in a row.

“In terms of basic accounting, that means the previous administration did not spend more than it earned, a far cry from Warisan’s claim that the state’s finances were badly managed and that the party was left with not much to fulfil their manifesto,” Hajiji said.

He said the Warisan state government had been saying repeatedly that Sabah’s finances were in dire straits, thus hampering its efforts to deliver its promises to the people.

Hajiji said the report stated that the state consolidated funds under Musa’s tenure rose last year.

Investments in fixed and state deposits topped RM2.51bil and investments in public corporations and statutory bodies totalled RM6.58bil, he said.

The two investments brought in RM112.67mil and RM140.43mil in interest and dividends, he said.