In a heated exchange during the Sabah State Assembly, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun clashed over the controversial issuance of sukuk bonds to rescue Sabah International Petroleum Sdn Bhd (SIP).
Shafie, the Parti Warisan president, refuted claims that he blamed the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government for the issue.
“He also said that I blamed the GRS government, but in fact, we know that it did not happen during GRS or Warisan’s time. It was the previous (Barisan) government,” Shafie asserted.
Shafie also clarified that he never attended any meeting on the bond but acknowledged the possibility that a “position paper” might have been forwarded to him, despite no decision being made.
Masidi, standing by his statements, emphasized that his remarks were based on bank statements and the auditor’s report.
“I have no intention to belittle Senallang, he is my friend.
For all you know, as you (Shafie) have said, you and the current chief minister (Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor) are not to be blamed because you may not have known what was happening,” Masidi stated, offering to be referred to the Privileges Committee if he had breached any member’s privileges.
Shafie has been vocal in questioning the RM900 million sukuk bond raised by SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd (SMJE) to rescue SIP, which subsequently helped pay off the mounting debts of the state-owned Sabah Development Bank (SDBank).
He expressed concerns to the assembly, warning that with SMJE raising public funds, it could potentially become another 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Masidi countered that 1MDB and SMJE were entirely different cases, the former involving misappropriation of funds and the latter focusing on restructuring government-linked companies.
“The two are worlds apart,” he added.
The debate continued during question time, with discussions focusing on the merits of raising the sukuk fund to pay off SIP loans.
Masidi argued that it was more cost-effective to repay the loans through the 4% sukuk interest than the bank’s 7%.
“It’s simple. I am not an economist like YB (Senallang), but I have a ‘buku tiga lima’ (555 book) that can count one plus one equals two,” Masidi said, referencing the ubiquitous pocket notebook used to record debts at provision shops.
Sabah State Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Kadzim Yahya said will decide whether Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun must retract his statement on Thursday.
