Finance minister lacks understanding on budgeting, says Nancy

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has shown his inability to understand budgeting, said Batang Sadong MP Nancy Shukri (photo, above).

This came in relation to Lim's recent statement that under the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition, Sarawak will go bankrupt in three years.

Calling Sarawakians to vote for Pakatan Harapan in the next state election in 2021, Lim had said that the state's reserves of RM31 billion would exhaust in three years if GPS continues its annual budget of RM11 billion.

News portal Free Malaysia Today reported Nancy as saying that Lim must have made his calculation without taking into account economic activities in the state.

She said Lim might have had a nefarious motive of trying to fool Sarawakians into withdrawing their support for GPS.

Noting that she supported Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Council of Eminent Persons chairperson Daim Zainuddin that some federal ministers' performance was subpar, Nancy said that "it is proven that some ministers really fit that description".

Lim's statement also received a backlash from several political figures.

Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg responded by saying that Lim had made presumptions without considering the earnings that Sawarak generated from various sources, such as oil and gas.

"We have income from dividends, royalties, premiums and taxes. This year I will implement a five percent tax on oil and gas exports, which will earn Sarawak RM3 billion," he said.

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak also chided Lim by asking the minister to return to school to study basic accounting terminologies.

The Pekan MP, in his Facebook posting, had said that Sarawak had tabled a surplus budget, and not a deficit budget this year.

"Sarawak's revenue is greater than its expenditure in 2019.

"There is excess. Positive, not negative. That means, at the end of 2019, Sarawak's RM30 billion reserve would be increased," Najib said.