By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Dec 5: Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen has demanded that the Sarawak government publicly disclose the State’s full financial obligations, including total debt, annual loan repayments and interest payable, stressing that the administration is fully accountable to the people for how public funds are managed.
Chong criticised Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg’s recent analogy likening State borrowing to a family purchasing a car on loan, saying it sidestepped the fundamental issue of financial transparency.
“Why is the State government so secretive about how much the Sarawak government is paying for the debts every year, including interest and loan repayment instalments?
“Even for a family to buy a car, one needs to know how much is the interest payable and the monthly instalments. In the case of the Sarawak government’s loans, I am merely asking the State government to tell the people how much in total is owed, how much are the annual repayments and how much is the interest payable,” he said in a statement today.
Extending the car analogy, Chong questioned whether the State had clearly explained the scale and nature of its borrowings.
“For any family buying a car, there are also considerations: what type of car, how many cars, at what price range, and how much are the instalments payable? The same principle should apply to government borrowing,” he added.
He stressed that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government must remember that it is only the custodian of public funds and is therefore fully accountable to the public, “just as a company manager is accountable to shareholders”.
“The GPS should not adopt such an arrogant stand as to refuse to tell the people how much in total the State government is borrowing, the annual repayment amount and the interest thereon,” he said.
Chong noted that in recent years the Sarawak government had increased land renewal premiums through rezoning, raised assessment rates, increased water bills and introduced new charges, making financial transparency even more critical.
“Therefore, the people have all the more right to know how much the Sarawak government is borrowing and what its repayment obligations are,” he said.
He urged the Sarawak government to “be forthcoming” in answering these questions, saying transparency is necessary to maintain public confidence and ensure responsible financial governance. — DayakDaily
