KUCHING: Pakatan Harapan (PH) should not claim political credit over the funding of rural transformation projects (RTP) in the state.
Muara Tuang assemblyman Datuk Idris Buang chided Puncak Borneo Member of Parliament Willie Mongin for claiming that RTP funds were channelled by the federal government and not wholly state funds.
“Willie should check it out with the offices of the State Financial Secretary (SFS) and State Planning Unit (SPU) for the correct information about Sarawak State Rural Programmes, its funding and implementation etc.
“He should not claim political credit or spin the issue so as to gain political credit based on incorrect information,” he told New Sarawak Tribune yesterday.
On Monday, Willie took to his Facebook page claiming that the federal government also channelled funds for RTP and insinuated that the RTP funds in Sarawak were mainly contributed by major tax-collecting states, Selangor and Penang.
He said when the federal government announced the yearly Budget, funds were channelled to state governments through SFS into a ‘Consolidated Fund’ — established under the Constitution of the State.
From thereon, the money would be distributed for RTP, implying that RTP is not solely a state government’s contribution.
“As long as RTP is from the state’s coffers, it is deemed that part of the fund is from the federal.
“There is no doubt that RTP is a state project but to say that RTP is purely state-financed is not correct as it is also partly inflow from federal government contribution. Whatever it is, it is tax payers’ money,” he said.
