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Funds used for GE14,

says Guan Eng


www.nst.com.my
3 mins read

Pakatan Harapan said former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib


Razak’s administration, in the four months before the May 9
general election, could have used taxpayers’ money in its hope
to regain the ruling mandate.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng alleged that the “excessive


spending” between January and April was the cause of the
drastic drop in Putrajaya’s Consolidated Revenue Account.

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He said the account, which had RM11.86 billion up to Dec 31,
2017, saw a drastic dip in funds, and there was only RM450
million left on April 30, 2018.

Lim attributed the gaping difference in the funds to what he


claimed was Barisan Nasional’s attempt to win the polls, which
it lost heavily for the first time.

“Clearly, this was the ‘general election spending’ to try to help


BN win the 14th General Election,” he said.

Among Lim’s chief concerns was that the sum left in the
account was paltry, considering that the government would
need about 18 times more for emoluments and pension
payments alone.

For just these two aspects, Lim said, the Treasury needed RM8
billion a month.

“Najib claimed that he was no longer the finance minister


when the unaudited monthly financial statements for April 30,
2018, were prepared.

“He (Najib) was shocked to learn that the BN government


had only left RM450 million in
the Consolidated Revenue Account for the new PH
government. This is not true,” Lim said in a statement
yesterday.

“Is Najib still at a loss to differentiate or understand what


constitutes a Consolidated Revenue Account despite being

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finance minister for 10 years?” Lim said in putting forth this
question for Najib to answer.

He also wanted Najib, who is facing 28 charges of money


laundering and abuse of power with regard to the 1Malaysia
Development Bhd scandal, to break it down to the public in
explaining the “drastic depletion involving RM11.41 billion, or
96 per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Account over the
four-month period”.

“Najib has refused to explain why only RM450 million was left
to the PH government in the Consolidated Revenue Account on
April 30.

“He must think that Malaysians are so gullible as to believe his


claims that the value of the ringgit is determined by the price
of oil, that he is unaware that his government has failed to
return GST (Goods and Service Tax) and income tax refunds of
RM35.5 billion back to the rakyat, that GST is better and less
burdensome than SST (Sales and Services Tax) in terms of
price rises, and that the Federal Government does not face a
fiscal crisis with more than a trillion ringgit debt,” he said.

Lim also pointed out that Najib had, without verifying the
authenticity of the April 2018 Financial Statement, accused the
former of manipulating figures.

“As the former finance minister, he should know that the


monthly financial statements of the Federal Government are
independently prepared by the Accountant-General’s
Department.

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“Najib failed to realise that
the new finance minister was
not sworn in yet when the unaudited monthly financial
statements for April 30, 2018, were prepared.

Lim’s response followed Najib’s Facebook posting on Sept 5,


where the Pekan member of parliament had said it was
“impossible” for the Consolidated Revenue Account to have
only RM450 million left.

Najib said funds in the account were always kept at between


RM18 billion and RM20 billion every month, and government
officers, in their cash-flow management, would ensure that
there was enough to serve as “buffer” for at least two months’
payment of salaries and pensions.

Lim, in his response, said Najib had failed the accounting test
by confusing between the Consolidated Fund and the
Consolidated Revenue Account.

“Legally, the government can only use the Consolidated


Revenue Account for its operating expenditures,” Lim said,
adding that Najib appeared to have difficulty in distinguishing
the difference between the accounts in claiming that up to Dec
31 last year, the Federal Government had RM18.06 billion to
spend, and not RM11.86 billion as he revealed.

All collections by Putrajaya


are channelled into a common
pool that is known as “the
Consolidated Account”, which has in it three different accounts

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maintained by the accountant-general — the Consolidated
Revenue Account, Consolidated Loan Account and Consolidated
Trust Account.

Lim had recently said despite Najib’s assertion that there was
RM42.2 billion in the Consolidated Account on Dec 31 last
year, only RM11.86 billion was in the Consolidated Revenue
Account.

Even then, the RM11.86 billion was never transferred to the


Tax Refund Trust Account, Lim said.

After PH took over the Federal Government, Lim said, the


amount in the unaudited Consolidated Account was just
RM35.5 billion, while only RM450 million was in the
Consolidated Revenue Account.

Lim said the PH administration had increased the unaudited


Consolidated Account amount to RM59.9 billion as at July 31
this year, with RM3.81 billion in the unaudited Consolidated
Revenue Account, despite the tax holiday that was in place.

Touching on the ongoing multi-pronged probes into the 1MDB


scandal, Lim said the electorate voting PH into Putrajaya was
proof that they did not buy into lies and claims that it was a
“sustainable and good” company for Malaysia after it left the
country saddled with debts of about RM50 billion.

“The 14th General Election has proven that Malaysians will not
be deceived any more.”

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