Study whether to take over SESB: Shafie
Published on: Thursday, November 15, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government is poised to play a greater role in providing critical basic services and facilities such as electricity and water supplies.Chief Minister cum State Finance Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said it is considering taking over SESB subject to a careful study to be carried out. Water concessions are under review by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development.He said this in response to the proposal by Kemabong Assemblyman that the Sabah Government take over Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd (SESB) as well as water concessions to provide more quality and satisfactory services, including lower and reasonable tariff setting.
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Shafie also expressed confidence that State finances will get better in the long run. This especially with measures taken to improve the financial situation, among which is to reduce and ban the export of timbers. He said this in his winding up speech here, Wednesday. He went on to say that on the Nov 26 he will meet with the furniture industry in Kuala Lumpur."I have asked ministers who are entrusted at the federal level to organise an event with hundreds of factories as they are faced with the problem of timber supply in the peninsula. In additon, I'll advise them if they want to get timber or supply of logs, they must set up their industry here," he said, adding there are Sabahans working in Kuala Lumpur."Therefore, it is necessary for us to make sure that it is time to ensure that there is no wastage."The previous government had a lot of leakage, What worries me is the financial condition, the money that we should have used at state level but the problem is we have to allocate for developing Kuala Lumpur. Of the total I see, 42 per cent of the allocation in Sabah is used to build Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor," he said
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He said almost RM3 billion used is our money from Sabah, from Sabah Development Bank which is the result of the bond we issued for RM6 billion."While we are asking from Kuala Lumpur for Sabah's construction allowance, we are giving development to build various sectors in the peninsula.
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"It's not that we do not appreciate what had been done, we appreciate it but we have to understand the facts, " he said."I am not saying that the financial situation in Sabah is not there, I did not say that. I only state that financial constraints will not allow me to spend up to RM500 million for the education sector, the health sector, the legal sector, because of the financial constraints we get by the preceding conditions," he said."I know a lot of details which I do not want to expose but since Apas Assemblyman raised this issue he also needs to know that he being the Chairman of a GLC from 2013 to 2018."The State Government allocated RM750 million to that GLC. Today is the money available with this GLC? The whole money had been used over a period of five years."Buying fertiliser worth RM40 million while the Government's land under this GLC is 150,000 hectares, but only 40,000 hectares is developed."Where is the RM750 million, excluding debt from the bank, excluding the revenue obtained?Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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