KUCHING: Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Information chief Datuk Idris Buang is questioning Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s claims of the Premier of Sarawak ‘twisting facts’ on the funding to repair dilapidated schools in Sarawak.
In a response to Chong’s allegation, Idris told the incumbent Stampin MP to admit that he was trying to defend a big lie.
“All I need to ask Chong is, is it a fact that Lim Guan Eng, the then Finance Minister under Pakatan Harapan (PH) did ask the Sarawak government to repay its loan to the federal government first, before he could give any fund to repair dilapidated schools in Sarawak albeit by using the said ‘repayment sum’?
“If the answer is yes, then Chong better admit that he is trying to defend a big fat lie himself,” he said in a statement today (Oct 19).
Citing another article published in a local daily dated July 23, 2019 entitled “Lim: School repairs money is yours but first pay back”, Idris stressed that this clearly captured the ‘loan repayment demand’ statement made by Lim.
He added that there were many reports and coverages in all the national and state newspapers and social media that carried the same statement made by Lim, even videos of him issuing the demand.
“Did PH really care for Sarawak when so many projects approved for Sarawak were cancelled during PH’s rule?” he queried.
On Oct 18, Chong in a statement had come to Lim’s defence and said the repayment of RM1 billion was an extraordinary offer giving special ‘preferential treatment’ to the state.
