Missing RM11 billion claim: Report Swk DAP to police

Sarawak DAP wants ruling PBB assemblyman Abdul Karim Hamzah to tell all if he knows the whereabouts of the “missing” RM11 billion from state coffers.

KUCHING: Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) supreme council member Abdul Karim Hamzah should not keep silent if he knew the whereabouts of the ‘missing’ RM11 billion from the past seven state budgets.

In fact Karim should report the opposition’s ‘lies’ to the police citing the Printing Presses and Publications Act, said DAP secretary-general Chong Chieng Jen.

Chong  said if  Karim, who is Asajaya assemblyman. knew who the beneficiaries of the RM11 billion were, then he is ‘duty-bound’ to disclose it.

“And if he does not know, it is his duty as a DUN member to find out who are the beneficiaries of this amount.

“On the part of DAP, we will continue to distribute the flyer in order to create  awareness of the people and to demand for the answers until the government make full  disclosure who are the  approved agencies receiving the amount.

“Karim is free to lodge a report with the police because under the Printing Presses and Publications Act, it is an offence to publish false information,” said Chong, in reply to Karim’s statement last Thursday alluding to DAP’s trilingual flyer on the “unaccountable” RM11 billion.

Tens of thousand of copies of the flyers printed in English, Chinese and Malay have been distributed in Kuching, Bau, Serian and Sri Aman causing a “big headache” to the state BN leaders .

According to the flyer, since 2006, more than RM11.373 billion which was about 50% of the state development expenditure of RM23.281 billion, have gone into a ‘black hole’

Said Chong:  “Karim is talking about common budgetary procedure to park funds at a certain account.

To a certain extent it may be true.

“But to it is not true to park such a huge sum RM11 billion in an account which is not accounted and answerable to the Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) especially if it involves the people’s money.

“In answer to his argument that Sarawak Government has received accreditation from ratings agencies and has complied with financial procedures, such a statement by Karim is to confuse the rakyat because this auditing agency only refers to procedures and the minute that DUN approved the funds, it is dispersed of,” he said.

He pointed out that once that procedure has been complied with, the auditor does not refer to who receive the money.

‘Common budgetary practice’

Last Thursday, Karim, who is also Assistant Minister for Youth Development and Assistant Minister of Housing, said that it was a “common budgetary practice” for funds to be parked in certain accounts.

He said Chong’s allegations over the ‘unaccounted’ RM11 billion reflected his ignorance about budgetary and accounting procedures.

“He is talking like a school boy and trying to hoodwink the public with malicious and incorrect statement alleging that Chief Minister has siphoned money from the state coffers for personal gains or for crony companies,” he said.

Karim said that the people should not be easily influenced by the opposition’s allegations.

He said that Sarawak was the only state that had received accreditation  not only from domestic rating agencies, but also Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.

He said that their ratings of the state have always been good.

“Who is YB Chong to discredit these findings and ratings as well as giving his stupid and ignorant opinion?” he asked, urging Chong to check his facts first before ridiculing the state government.