KOTA KINABALU: Opposition leader, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, has repeatedly claimed that in 2019 his administration managed to pay off RM1 billion in debt left by the previous government.
His claim is supposedly to show that his administration was a good manager of government finances. The facts say otherwise, said Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
“The bond in question was the State Government of Sabah Bonds (2014/2019), issued in December 2014 during the Barisan Nasional administration,” he said in a statement.
Bank Negara Malaysia imposed a condition for the issuance of the bond, that the State Government must set up a dedicated Sinking Fund (Kumpulan Wang Amanah Bagi Bayaran Balik Bon) to ensure full repayment of the bond debt upon maturity, he said.
“This was a safeguard to prevent the repayment from becoming a huge financial burden on the State’s finances,” he said.
Under the terms of the bond, he said the State Government was required to place RM200 million in the Sinking Fund each year for five years, until 2019.
“By the time the Warisan administration took office in 2018, most of the funds needed for repayment had already been secured.
“In fact, in the following year there was RM1 billion in the Sinking Fund, which enabled the State Government to make a one-off bullet payment for the full settlement of the bond debt,” said Masidi.
Therefore, he said it is not accurate to suggest that this repayment was the result of any special action by the Warisan government.
The payment was the outcome of prudent financial planning put in place by the previous administration years before the bond matured, he added.
“I have in fact addressed the same issue during my winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly sitting in July 2024.
“The current administration is committed to ensuring that the public is given clear and accurate information about the State’s finances and will not allow misleading statements to go unchallenged,” he said. – Wu Vuide
