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KUCHING: Parti Sarawak Bersatu President Wong Soon Koh continued to question how the Sarawak state government would finance its stimulus packages to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.
Wong said there was no contingency fund approved in the 2020 Budget that could be used for all three stimulus packages, which requires spending of approximately RM2.55 billion.
He said that the 2019 budget contained a contingency fund of RM250 million, but that it was not for 2020 and was well below the required RM2.55 billion.
Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah Embas had said today that Wong had “misled” the public about the lack of a contingency reserve. Uggah said the money would come from the contingency fund, the 2020 development budget (microcredit schemes), savings from unimplemented projects and from the development fund account.
He added that a total of RM1 billion from Banco Negara’s special aid fund was used.
In response, Wong said Uggah’s remarks showed that Sarawak Prime Minister Abang Johari Openg had not told the truth in April when he said there was a contingency fund in the 2020 budget.
The state government should not mislead people by claiming that everything was fine, he said. “The government is spending far beyond our means and the government must be transparent with the rakyat.”
It is only appropriate to submit a supplemental bill for approval, he said.
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