UNWISE SPENDING PUBLIC FUND

By : DAP MEDIA

THE Sabah CM, Datuk Musa Aman insisted that the Sabah government administration complex in Likas will go on as scheduled in spite of many public complaints and the strong opposition voice against the construction of such an expensive complex using up to RM388 million of the tax-payers’ money.

This is a typical BN style of project reflected by the size of the job, extravagance and huge expenditure, without proper consideration, closed door negotiation and direct award of the contract, and the state cabinet may not know and agreed upon the project.

The KK MP Hiew cannot agree to the project of building such a huge administrative complex for the use by the state government, especially to house the CM department. This is not justified and not needed at this juncture of time.

Do we need this expensive building while we are so poor in the state? The RM388 million or more can be best used to help the poor to have a roof over their head and a comfortable home to go back to. The RM388 million can build 10,000 affordable low cost houses for the poor. Don’t forget we are the poorest state in Malaysia.

Hiew calculated that with the same amount of money, it is possible and will be cheaper to put up 10 blocks of 8-storey buildings with more floor area, more economical and cost effective, and it will be cheaper to maintain in the long run too.

In this case of spending a huge sum of RM388 million, it is not justifiable and this will further bringing heavy financial burden to the tight financial standing of the state. The question is why are we spending such a huge amount of money while we are still in heavy debts and liabilities?

This can be seen as another project under the BN administration which is done hastily and without due consideration to the suffering impact on the state coffer. May be the CM is thinking to pull a fast one before he and the BN steps down after the next general election.

Do we need this huge piece of building now? Many civil servants don’t think that this admin building is necessary at this moment because there is plenty of available government buildings left abandoned and empty for many years. Some simple renovation work can transform these buildings into comfortable offices. We can positively save the state a huge sum of money.

Hiew said this is not the time to show off that the BN has built a fantastic building for the Sabahan, but in the real sense this will definitely add on to the pain and suffering of the Sabahan. What we want is the economic growth and rice in our bowl.

Can the BN government jack the state economy to a high level and let every poor people have a good income and a house? Can BN provide enough job opportunities to keep our young people stay working in Sabah instead of going to work in Semenanjung and other countries? BN state government should review what they have done in damaging the well being of the Sabahan, and stop the Sabah Admin Building project.