KUCHING, Nov 11 — Kota Sentosa state assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen today asked Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg to explain why the Auditor-General’s (AG) Report had found that the state Budgets for 2018 and 2019 were deficit budgets.
He said the claimed surplus budgets in the past turned out to be deficit budgets which amounted to billions of ringgit.
“Let me share with you the figures which were quoted in the report. In 2018, the revenue collected was RM7.32 billion, and the expenditure, RM10.96 billion.
“In 2019, the revenue collected was RM7.26 billion, but the actual expenditure was RM10.06 billion,” Chong said during the debate on the state Budget 2021.
He said the figures showed that expenditure was more than revenue over the past two years.
When tabling the state Budget 2021 last Friday, Abang Johari, who is also the state finance and economic planning minister, had said that the Sarawak government’s financial accounts have received a clean bill of health from the auditor-general for 18 consecutive years.
Chong said the deficit budgets will have some effect on state reserves.
“Sure enough, if we look at the statement of the financial position of the state, in 2015, we had in our consolidated fund RM29.4 billion, 2016 we had RM29.36 billion, 2017 RM30.04 billion and 2018, it dropped to RM27.09 billion.
“In 2019, the reserve dropped to RM23.96 billion. If we remember, Abang Johari took over as chief minister in 2017 and over the next two years, we ran a deficit budget,” he said.
Chong asked why the figures on the actual spending and total reserves were not disclosed in the state assembly.
He also urged the chief minister to divulge the total debts owed by state agencies where the state government has stood as guarantor.
“I hope the state government can be more frank and truthful when it comes to budget reporting and let us know exactly what is the reserve now,” he said.
Chong also asked why the state government is not presenting an expansionary deficit state Budget 2021, instead of a contracting surplus budget.
He said many countries were running expansionary budgets amid the Covid-19 pandemic because the economy is their top priority.
“In this kind of economic situation, the state government still wants to run a contracting surplus budget. It does not make sense even if you have a lot of surplus.
“If the economy does not recover and if the people on the street can’t survive, it serves no purpose,” he claimed.
