MELAKA: Caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh has denied claims that there are 55 troubled projects in the state, as well as allegations that state government expenditure is three times higher than revenue.
The state Barisan Nasional chairman said some of the troubled projects were inherited from the previous administration, while most fell under the federal government’s Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU).
He said the appointment of contractors, handover of works and monitoring of the projects were handled by the federal government, but the state government was making efforts to address the problems.
“There are state government projects that I inherited and am now trying to resolve it. Secondly, most of the projects classified as problematic are federal ICU projects.
“So, the appointment of contractors, handover of works and supervision are all handled by the federal side.
“I am aware of this and am working to improve these projects. But no, it is not true that there are 55 troubled projects,” he said after visiting BN main operations room for the Pengkalan Batu constituency here today.
It was reported yesterday that PKR deputy secretary-general G Sivamalar called on Rauf to explain the status of the 55 troubled projects in Melaka.
Ab Rauf, who is also state Umno liaison committee chairman, said efforts were being made to improve the implementation of the projects to ensure that the people benefited from them.
He said some of the state government projects had been inherited from the previous administration and required corrective action, while most of the other troubled projects were handled by the federal government.
On other matters, Rauf disputed claims by Bersama founder Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli that the state government’s expenditure was three times higher than its revenue.
He maintained that the state government had never spent more than it earned throughout his administration.
“I do not know where that information came from. I do not want to comment because, from their perspective, they will find a thousand and one reasons to undermine the state government’s capabilities,” he said.
Rauf said the state administration’s performance should instead be assessed based on its investment achievements, with investments reaching RM14.8 billion last year.
“Over the past 22 years, last year, when I was administering the state, we received the highest investment in Melaka for the first time, amounting to RM14.8 billion
“As the Malay saying goes ‘nak tahu baik orang, tanya kawan dia. Nak tahu jahat orang, tanya musuh dia’ (If you want to know a person’s good side, ask their friends. If you want to know their bad side, ask their enemies). So you know what I mean,” he said.