PUTRAJAYA: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has rubbished Sarawak’s claim that it had settled all its arrears with the federal government, maintaining that the state was still about RM40 million behind payment.
He said the statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office on Monday was disputable as the federal government has records of payments.
“Our records show that there are arrears. In November it was RM50 million, and at the end of the year, on Dec 31, it was roughly about RM40 million.
“These are records that can be seen and reconciled. So according to our records, there are arrears. And if yours says no, then we can reconcile (the figures),” he told a press conference, here, today.
The Sarawak government’s statement came after Lim claimed on Monday that despite the state still owing the federal RM2.5 billion with RM50 million in arrears, they would still receive the 50% tourism tax revenue by the first quarter of this year.
In response, Sarawak demanded that the payment owed be made immediately, claiming that Sabah had already received its share of the money, and that Sarawak was being discriminated against.
This was debunked by both Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew and Lim who said all states have yet to receive the payment, as the government needed to finalise the tax revenue and financial statements first.
Commenting further, Lim questioned Sarawak’s motive of issuing false allegations and asked if it would retract its previous accusations.
“But I know they wouldn’t. They only know to attack the federal government, that they are even willing to make false statements. I know this is their preparation for the state election in two years.
“But please, if you want to criticise, please base on facts and figures,” he said.
