Tuesday 19 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): The Pakatan Harapan (PH) government has managed to grow the consolidated revenue account by seven-fold within four months, to RM3.7 billion as at Aug 31 from RM450 million as at April 30, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.

He attributed the country's current account balance surplus of RM3.25 billion, which was achieved over the four-month period from May to August this year, to helping the federal government to record the increased consolidated revenue account balance.

"The seven-fold increase in the consolidated revenue account from May to August 2018 explains how the PH government managed to secure sufficient funds to run the administration of the federal government including paying the monthly RM8 billion salaries and pensions," he said in a statement.

"The PH government is intent on proving that a clean government can not only liberate Malaysia from being known as a global kleptocracy but also help us to find new sources of revenue," Guan Eng added.

The revenue for the May-August 2018 period has increased by 2.4% to RM73.58 billion from RM71.88 billion in the January-April 2018 period, while the operating expenditure has declined substantially by 15.6% to RM70.33 billion from RM83.29 billion during the same period.

On Sept 17, the finance minister had revealed that his predecessor Datuk Seri Najib Razak had left the Treasury with only RM450 million to repay RM11.86 billion owed to taxpayers after the 14th general election on May 9. The RM450 million figure was confirmed by Accountant-General Datuk Saat Esa on Sept 25.

There was a drastic decline of RM11.41 billion or 96% in the consolidated revenue account over four months from Dec 31, 2017 to April 30, 2018. Only monies in the consolidated revenue account can be spent on government expenditure.

"Some questioned whether these figures were true even though they were revealed and confirmed by Saat. Others asked how was it possible for the PH government to continue to pay monthly salaries and pensions of RM8 billion with only RM450 million," said Guan Eng in the statement.

"Due to the alarming fiscal position of the federal government, we were left with no choice but to implement stringent measures to control the operating expenditure and practise prudent spending. Furthermore, PH’s clean administration of Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT) has allowed not only savings from eliminating corrupt practices but also efficiency gains from institutional reforms such as open competitive tenders," he added.

 

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