Kota Kinabalu: Lamag Assemblyman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin wants the State Government to be more open about how it spends taxpayers’ money or decision-making about public projects and job promotions.
“This projection for the supplementary budget must be coordinated through good governance and when we say good governance, it means a government must be accountable,” he said when debating the Supplementary Supply Bill 2025, Monday.
“I do not question the need for this supplementary budget. What I question is why in the contributions to the recommended Statutory Funds amounting to RM600 million, a total of RM250 million is stored under the development fund group without detailed particulars.
“I want the detailed particulars of where this financial direction is used,” he said.
Additionally, he noted percentage increases in various allocations, including a 25.5 per cent increase from the original budget of RM1.186 billion and a 35.7 per cent increase in contributions to the State Government’s special trust fund amounting to RM200 million.
“We are happy that the State Government has reserve funds like in Sarawak, where their (Sarawak) reserve fund is around RM40 billion and their allocation is RM13 billion. Their people are also happy.
“In Sarawak, their state assemblymen get an allocation of RM5 - RM7 million per year. But what about us in Sabah?”
“What is the use of Sabah having lots of reserves if the people are suffering. We should use that money to make life easier for the people, help the people, solve the people’s problems,” he said.
He reiterated his call on the need for proper procedures in governance, questioning the rationale behind the government’s civil servant job promotion decision, citing Datuk Seri Safar Untong’s extended tenure as Sabah State Secretary.
“I want to ask the government about his (Safar) position. He is indeed very fortunate. Will his tenure be extended again?
“Why does he keep getting extended? What brilliance does he have? Is he cleverer, more brilliant than Bill Gates? Is that why he keeps getting extended.
“How about other senior government officers in Sabah? Are they not capable of being promoted to the position of State Secretary? Are they just waiting? Hanging without a rope? he said, pointing out the impact on career advancement opportunities for other senior government officers.
“If we want to see good governance, then we must choose according to procedures. Do not extend anymore because such extensions will hinder and weaken other civil servants and other officers from continuing to serve,” he said.
For the record, Safar was initially appointed as Sabah State Secretary in 2019 and had his tenure extended in July last year.
Bung Moktar also expressed concern over the state of the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) housing project which he says appears to have left many units incomplete across the State.
“In Lamag, there are 40 SMJ houses. I want to know how many are completed, who are the recipients? In Sukau, how many houses are completed?
“Because from what I see, there are 20-30 houses that are not completed until today. So where did the money go for these SMJ houses? Where did the money go that these houses are abandoned?
“Throughout Sabah, SMJ houses are only about 50 – 60 per cent completed, while 40 per cent are not completed.
“For my Lamag constituency, I want to know who received these SMJ houses because the reports I got are that only relatives received them,” Bung Moktar said.
He called for proper investigation into the housing project irregularities, noting that some officers from Unit Perancangan Kemajuan Rakyat have been detained, investigated and charged in connection with the project.
“This is not good. There must be transparency,” he said, requesting detailed written information about fund allocations and their recipients.
