GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has set up a special committee headed by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to monitor projects undertaken by the state’s investment arm, Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI).
Chow said he had proposed the setting up of the committee during the state executive council meeting meeting and the exco had accepted the proposal.
“The CMI monitoring committee will be headed by me, together with Deputy Chief Ministers I and II, the state secretary and state financial officer as well as committee members. It will oversee and maybe approve projects undertaken by CMI,“ he told reporters after attending a civil service award ceremony here today.
However, Chow, who is also the state assemblyman for Padang Kota, said a special ledger would be created to monitor the ins and outs of CMI’s revenue and expenses.
“This is so that the in and out revenue of CMI can be put into the ledger for accountability,“ he said.
Currently, all revenues collected by the State Secretariat Incorporated (SSI) and CMI goes directly into state consolidated funds.
Meanwhile, Penang State Secretary Datuk Seri Farizan Darus said the ledger would be able to identify the revenue streams from SSI and CMI.
“So we will know how much is coming from CMI but other states may have their own separate accounts and this wholly depends on the respective states,“ he said.
Farizan also said that there were no requirements for CMI’s accounts to be made public through the state legislative assembly.
It was reported earlier, that former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng reportedly told the Penang High Court during a defamation trial that CMI does not have any board members and its own set of accounts as a result, CMI was not required to undergo a federal audit. — Bernama
