In today’s edition of Evening 5 — Putrajaya spent RM62 billion on subsidies last year — nearly five times more than in 2021. Meanwhile, Penang’s former deputy chief minister II urges the state to indefinitely suspend the controversial Batu Kawan land deal.
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00:00 [Music]
00:04 The Auditor General's report on the federal government's 2022 financial statement shows
00:09 Putrajaya spent RM62.11 billion on subsidies last year, nearly five times more than in 2021.
00:17 The bulk of RM55.443 billion were charged to the government's operating expenditure,
00:24 while part of the subsidy spending for petroleum products and cooking oil
00:28 amounting to RM6.67 billion were charged to the COVID-19 Trust Fund.
00:32 The total amount spent on subsidies in 2022 is RM4.73 times the RM13.134 billion
00:40 spent by the federal government in 2021. Within an OPEX allocation, the biggest component at
00:47 81.5% of the total was petroleum products' subsidy of RM45.18 billion, not including
00:54 the sum charged to the COVID-19 Trust Fund. The electricity subsidy charged to OPEX stood at RM4
01:00 billion. Subsidies for food aid and cooking oil amounted to RM2.47 billion, while the allocation
01:07 for highway tolls stood at RM861.22 million. Malaysia has projected a total subsidy bill at
01:15 around RM81 billion this year. To rein in ballooning subsidies,
01:20 the government expects to introduce a targeted subsidy system in 2024.
01:25 According to Economy Minister Rafizieh Romli, the system will rely on Putrajaya's Padu database
01:31 and make the calculations based on an individual's income, location and commitment.
01:36 Currently at a completion rate of 60%, Padu will be trialled on one million households
01:42 in November and go live in January 2024.
01:46 The Auditor General's report said the government wrote off RM4.6 billion in loans in 2022,
01:56 out from RM701.5 million in 2021. The write-off in 2022 comprised RM1.36 billion approved that year,
02:05 as well as another RM3.24 billion approved between 2011 and 2022. The biggest portion
02:12 comprised RM2.794 billion to Perwajar Trengganu, RM1.23 billion was to the Pahang State Government,
02:20 RM242.4 million to Velcro and RM173.5 million to the Melaka State Government.
02:27 The write-off last year also includes RM54.76 million to Malaysia Venture Capital Management,
02:34 RM46.05 million to Uda Holdings and RM40 million to Bank Bertanian Malaysia.
02:40 Putrajaya also saw lower loan payment arrears, totalling RM10.79 billion, down from RM11.96
02:47 billion in 2021. The payment arrears include Indah Water Consortium at RM3.606 billion,
02:54 SRC International at RM627.22 million, Sabah Electricity at RM501.84 million and KTMB, RM477.85 million.
03:07 1MDB's Assets Recovery Trust account balance shrank by 87.4% last year,
03:18 tumbling from RM15.281 billion in 2021 to RM1.927 billion at the end of 2022,
03:26 according to the National Audit Department. This followed the payments of RM13.9 billion in 1MDB
03:32 borrowings last year, which left the amount guaranteed by Putrajaya at RM18.17 billion as
03:39 at end 2022, down 43.3% from RM32.07 billion at end 2021. Prime Minister Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim
03:48 said in August that Putrajaya aims to recover more funds from Goldman Sachs. The bank arranged
03:54 billions of US dollars in bond sales for 1MDB and received some $600 million in fees in return.
04:02 Two of its former bankers have been accused of helping facilitate the theft of over $2.7 billion
04:08 of the proceeds from those offerings. It agreed to $3.9 billion in cash and assets recovery to
04:14 Malaysia as part of a global settlement in 2020. Penang's former Deputy Chief Minister to Professor
04:26 Dr P Ramasamy is urging the state government to indefinitely suspend the controversial RM646
04:33 million Batu Kawan land deal in the interest of Malaysians pending investigations or risk
04:38 having it blown out of proportion. Ramasamy was referring to the sale of a 558.96-acre plot in
04:46 Batu Kawan Industrial Park II to Sunway's subsidiary UMEK Land. He said the exposure
04:51 of the deal is akin to opening Pandora's box and the more Penang Chief Minister Chow Kwon-yew
04:57 attempts to defend the sale, the more it becomes indefensible. Ramasamy is a former board member
05:03 of state investment arm Penang Development Corp or PDC which sold the tract to UMEK Land. Recall
05:10 that Penang entered into a direct negotiation deal with UMEK Construction yet the agreement
05:15 signed with PDC was with UMEK Land which has shareholders in common with UMEK Construction
05:21 but is not legally related to the firm. UMEK Land was 70% acquired by a subsidiary of Sunway
05:28 just two days before the land deal was signed on September 27th.
05:32 Kejaya Prospect Group has bagged a RM226 million contract from Aspen Vision City
05:44 for a development in Batu Kawan, Penang. The job entails the building of a 37-storey residential
05:50 building with 980 units in two blocks on top of a seven-story podium comprising car parks,
05:56 community recreational facilities and shop lots. Construction works are expected to commence on
06:02 October 27th, 2023 and be completed within 42 months from the commencement date. With the
06:09 latest contract win, Kejaya Prospect has managed to surpass its target of securing RM1.2 billion
06:16 in new contracts this year. It brings the builder's outstanding order book to RM4.7 billion
06:22 and is expected to provide an additional stream of revenue for the group over the next four years.
06:27 Kejaya Prospect's share price finished unchanged at RM1.37,
06:31 giving the group a market capitalization of RM1.74 billion.
06:35 it