PPBM information chief Kamarudin Mohd Nor said state governments were different from the federal government, as by default, the head of a state government was responsible for managing the state’s finances.
“At the state level, finance and land matters all come under the purview of the MB or CM. If he’s not taking care of the state’s finances then what else does he do?”
The reform movement Engage had questioned the decision of Johor MB Osman Sapian in handling the finance and land portfolios. Other PH-ruled states where either the state government leader also holds the finance portfolio include Selangor, Melaka and Sabah.
PKR vice-president Xavier Jayakumar agreed with Kamarudin, pointing out that states depended on land taxes for the bulk of their revenues.
“Almost everything else is in the hands of the federal government. So the MB or CM must control the state’s finances, because only in that way can the state move forward with its plans,” he told FMT.
There was a huge difference between the prime minister holding the finance portfolio compared to a state leader.
“I don’t think there is any risk to the state because the state deals with a much smaller budget compared to the national budget,” he said. “For example, the budget for Selangor is about RM3 billion compared to the federal budget of roughly RM250 billion.”