Where is the money from Sabah’s special fund?

A special fund of RM1 million was created for BN MPs to help the poor but till today there is no accounting for it.

KOTA BELUD: There is a special fund of RM1 million to help those affected by natural disasters like floods, fires and extreme poverty. The funds were for Barisan MPs to help their constituents but the question being asked now is –where is the money?

But in Kota Belud, and it is believed elsewhere in Sabah, not many know of this fund called “touch point or sentuhan kasih’’ because it has been concealed so the constituents won’t know about it.

The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) supreme council member, Peter Marajin, during his working visit to Kampung Kaung near here this week, claimed this RM1 million special fund went straight from the federal treasury into the bank accounts of these MPs.

“Now we would like to know how did the BN MPs in Sabah spend this special fund last year? There must be transparency and every single sen must be accounted for as this is public money, not personal money of these MPs, even though it is banked in straight to their own bank accounts, unlike the other development funds.

“The MPs only need to report where they have spent the more than RM1 million, that is all. Even this only the district officer and the MP know. Can you call this transparent?” asked Marajin.

“There is talk in town that the fund has been used for more personal purposes. The government under (Chief Minister) Musa Aman therefore must explain how did they spend the fund,” he said at a SAPP gathering in Kaung.

“What about this year? Nothing has been heard so far about it in Kota Belud,” he said, adding that no one has ever heard how the MP divided this fund to the three constituencies under Kota Belud, namely Usukan, Tempasuk and Kadamaian.

“There is just no transparency and accountability,” he said and urged MP Rahman Dahlan, who is also Sabah BN secretary, to enlighten the people.

Marajin also asked the government if each BN assemblyman continued to enjoy a “sentuhan kasih” special fund of about RM500,000 each. This fund is similar to the one received by MPs and differs only in quantum.