States with weaker fiscal position: BN 3, Pakatan 1

Four of the 13 states registered a weaker financial position in 2011, as reflected by the decrease in the State Consolidated Fund (SCF).

Three of the states are under the BN, and the other is administered by Pakatan Rakyat, according to Auditor-General's Report 2011.

Malacca, under Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam who is being investigated for alleged graft in relation to the RM600,000 spent on his son’s wedding, tops the list (see table).

 

“The audit analysis found that the status of the (SCF in Malacca) has decreased to RM60.91 million compared to RM99.98 million in 2010, which is the lowest level in the period of five years,” reads the report which describes the state's financial position as “satisfactory”.

The SCF is the state government’s main bank account, which can be used to measure and monitor the state's fiscal position.

The report also notes that Malacca's public debt has increased by RM12.87 million to RM865.94 million.

“The total outstanding public debt payback has also increased by RM38.28 million or 43.4 percent as only RM0.18 million was repaid by the state government to the federal government in 2011.”    

Kedah, under a PAS-led government, comes next on the list. Its SCF fell by 23.1 percent, from RM328.28 million in 2010 to RM252.36 million in 2011, maintaining a decline since 2007.

“In 2010, the (SCF) experienced a moderate rise but returned to a declining trend in 2011...,” the report notes.

“In 2011, loans from the federal government dropped to RM23.20 million from RM249.87 million in 2010. However, the state government's commitment to the remaining public debt now stands at RM2.60 billion compared to RM2.61 billion in 2010, and is still high.”

Johor, a BN stronghold, was marked “satisfactory” as its SCF decreased by RM55.31 million or 10.9 percent to RM450.50 million, compared to RM505.81 million in 2010.

However, the figure was visibly higher compared to the years before 2010 - RM231.39 million (2009), RM201.53 million (2008) and RM260.56 million (2007). 

Sabah recorded a slight decrease of 5.6 percent or RM156.68 million in its SCF. It also experienced a slight drop of 5.1 percent or RM139.60 million in investments received.

Pakatan performance

The auditor-general has complimented Selangor and Penang on their respective financial positions, while Kelantan’s status was described as “satisfactory”.

The SCF of DAP-led Penang has maintained stable growth since 2006, reaching a new height of RM1,133.74 million in 2011.

Revenue collected in 2011 increased significantly by RM192.19 million or 46.8 percent compared to 2010, from RM410.70 million to RM602.89 million.

The report gives positive feedback on Selangor, pointing out that its SCF has been on the rise since 2007. It peaked in 2011, with an increase of 22.5 percent compared to 2010.

“Revenue collected in 2011 has also increased by RM192.19 million or 46.8 percent compared to 2010, from a total of RM410.70 million to RM602.89 million.”

However, the returns on long-term investments were not satisfactory as the state government has received very low dividend yields for the past five years from 2007 to 2011, the report states.

“Repayment of public debt in 2011 was very good, as the balance of public debt has decreased by RM25.01 million, while the outstanding loan repayment has decreased by RM604.97 million.”

Kelantan's SCF went up by more than half from RM148.30 million in 2010 to RM234.47 million in 2011, and investments increased by RM95 million from RM16.33 million to RM111.33 million.

However, the report detects weaknesses in the state's fiscal management:

- Recoverable loans increased by RM59.37 million from RM745.77 million in 2010 to RM805.14 million in 2011 

- The arrears of loan repayments from state agencies increased from RM120.36 million in 2010 to RM141.95 million in 2011 

- Investments in the Memorandum Account Statement decreased from RM38.88 million in 2010 to RM13.49 million in 2011

- Public debt increased by RM27.85 million from RM1.11 billion in 2010 to RM1.14 billion in 2011

- Arrears in debt repayment to the federal government also increased from RM121.57 million in 2010 to RM179.81 million in 2011