The Malaysian Insight

THE Kelantan government requested an advance of RM97 million from Putrajaya as of June to pay its civil servants’ salaries and settle outstanding bills, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

A total of RM24.5 million was meant to pay civil servants’ overdue wages as well as bills which had passed their 14-day deadline, Lim told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

However, the government approved only RM22.5 million.

“This was to allow the salaries to be quickly given out. We want to ensure the money is used wisely. If anyone who asks is given everything, this is not prudent budgeting.

“We gave what we could for the state government workers. Recently, (Kelantan) made another appeal,” said Lim.

The Bagan MP showed a copy of the advance request from the Kelantan treasury.

The letter stated that if the funds were not approved, the state would not be able to pay all its staff.

Yesterday, Lim refused to retract his earlier remarks stating that Kelantan was short of funds to pay its civil servants. Lawmakers from Kelantan had accused Lim of picking on the PAS-ruled state.

Lim said Putrajaya gave Kelantan RM398 million as a grant in 2016, of which RM59.9 million was a “deficit grant” to help the northeastern state pay its expenses, including emoluments for its civil service.

The federal government also lent RM100 million to cover state government expenses and that, as of December 31, Kelantan had yet to repay advance loans amounting to RM388 million, which made it the largest debtor among all the states.

“The question is why wasn’t there such a strong and hard reaction from the PAS leadership when former prime minister Najib Razak revealed publicly on January 28, 2018 that the Kelantan government was forced to rely on federal financial assistance to pay its state civil servants,” Lim said today.

“Instead, when I am finance minister making the same statement, the PAS leadership is playing up sentiments and spreading lies that I am holding a grudge against PAS when I am merely stating the facts that Kelantan is a state that has failed in terms of economic management because it cannot afford to pay the wages of its government administrators.” – October 24, 2018.