Sabah state polls cost RM130m, Takiyuddin tells Parliament

 

The Sabah state election triggered by an attempted political coup last year had cost the country RM130 million.

This was revealed by Putrajaya in a written parliamentary reply which was only released last week. It was part of a bulk of written replies from the final Dewan Rakyat session, which concluded on Dec 17.

De facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan, in response to a question by Hang Tuah Jaya MP Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, had included a list of expenditures for the September state polls.

Of the 11 items listed, the highest amount was for "rentals", which saw RM69,678,260 spent by the government.

The second-highest amount was RM39,850,047.30 on what was described as "professional services, other acquired services, and hospitality".

Other expenses include:

• Supplies and other items: RM8,789,681
• Travel expenses and subsistence: RM4,480,719.50
• Overtime allowances: RM2,231,011.20

The written reply by Takiyuddin, however, did not specify in detail each of the items the government had spent on.

On July 30 last year, then Sabah chief minister Shafie Apdal announced that state Governor Juhar Mahiruddin had agreed to dissolve the state assembly.

This came after Shafie advised Juhar to do so, following an attempt by former chief minister Musa Aman to topple the Warisan state government. Musa had claimed to have the number of support for a new state administration. 

Following the dissolution, the Election Commission set the Sabah polling day for Sept 26, two weeks after nomination day on Sept 12.

The election saw Warisan and its allies led by Shafie losing to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, a new coalition formed by Perikatan Nasional, BN and PBS. - Mkini