Perak: What was RM8mil used for?

Saturday May 31, 2008

BY HAH FOONG LIAN

IPOH: Perak wants the previous Barisan Nasional government to explain how this year’s RM8mil development fund was spent in less than three months.

State senior executive council member Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham said the Pakatan Rakyat government was shocked at the way the fund, meant for small projects, had been spent before or during the March 8 general election campaign period.

The fund, he said, was made up of a RM75,000 allocation to each Barisan assemblyman with an additional RM100,000 given to each state exco member.

“The people are suspicious that it was spent on the election campaign.

“We are not accusing them yet but we want them to clarify,” Ngeh told a press conference yesterday.

“I want (former Perak MB Datuk Seri Mohamad) Tajol Rosli (Ghazali) and other former exco members, who are now assemblymen, to clarify the matter in order to be fair to the people,” he said.

Urging the previous government to itemise the expenditure, Ngeh said: “This is a clear case of bad management.

“The allocation is intended for the whole year but spent within two months. Has it been spent for political purposes?”

Thepreviousgovernment should immediately write to the state or announce the matter in the media so that the people could verify the expenditure, he said.

State Education, Local Government Housing and Public Transport Committee chairman Nga Kor Ming, who was also present at the media briefing said:

“This is extraordinary and we are suspicious. The people have the right to know.”

Asked if there were any statements or receipts in the government’s record on the RM8mil, Nga said:

“Let them show first. They’ve spent the money so they must show.

“That is not a logical question. Why ask us to show?” he asked.

Exco member Zainuddin Mohd Yusof, who was also present, said the normal procedure was that the disbursement of public expenditure should be apportioned according to the time of the year.