SABAH will be conducting forensic checks on all state government-linked companies (GLCs) to see the depth of the financial mismanagement done by the previous administration.

Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal said this decision was made after a RM720 million fund given to Benta Wawasan, a commercial arm of Yayasan Sabah, had vanished.  

The previous Barisan Nasional government had given Benta Wawasan funds amounting to RM750 million but only RM30 million was left in the firm’s account when the Warisan-led government took over last May.

“For the government, this is not only one GLC, but all of the GLCs. We have to really ensure we want to be thorough.

“We will do forensic accounting to ensure the GLCs’ financial position is healthy.

“We don’t want to sweep these things under the carpet. People are hiding something, while Sabahans don’t know what went wrong,” he said after an event in Kota Kinabalu today.

Shafie had earlier launched the new Sabah football team jersey and unveiled the state players.

These GLCs were created for certain purposes, to not only generate revenue for the state government, but also create job opportunities for locals and carry out social responsibilities to Sabahans, said the chief minister.

Shafie said Benta Wawasan was not the only troubled Sabah GLC, adding that there were also problems in Yayasan Sabah, Warisan Harta and Sabah International Petroleum (SIP).

For example, he said SIP borrowed over RM1 billion and the firm had troubled settling.

Shafie noted that the other GLCs that once had numerous assets now were “not sure where they had gone”.

“Now, it is important to find out what went wrong, and it is also for the GLCs to put it right. They have to rectify.

“The state government must ensure reforms be carried out so they can generate revenue for us,” he said. – January 27, 2019.