PBS’ Kiulu assemblyman Joniston Bangkuai said Chief Minister Shafie Apdal’s government had also made many questionable decisions, adding that inconsistency was a recurrent theme with the new state government.

The PBS Supreme Council member cited the amount in the state coffers, Tanjung Aru Eco-Development (TAED) project and dam issues as examples.

“Before the election, they (Warisan) said they will scrap the TAED project but now it seems the government will proceed with it.

“As for the Kaiduan Dam, when they were the opposition they profusely objected to the project but now they have relocated the dam and changed the name (the dam is now known as Papar Dam) but it still affects the livelihood of native villagers.

“And Shafie had said during a previous state assembly sitting that the state had RM3.5 billion in reserves but he later clarified it to less than RM2 billion, which is the correct amount? Please start telling the truth,” Bangkuai said.

Shafie was sworn in as chief minister less than 48 hours after former Sabah Umno chief Musa Aman was installed as chief minister a day after the May 9 polls.

The Warisan president was able to form his government following defections from Umno and Upko reps who pledged support for the Warisan-Pakatan Harapan alliance. Warisan’s 100 days is on Aug 21.

Bangkuai said the state government was also hasty in making new promises before checking if they had the financial means to implement them.

“Shafie had announced previously about giving allowances to pastors but later backtracked because according to him, the state only has less than RM1.2 billion in reserves – he said this during the recent state assembly sitting.

“He made the announcement based on the assumption that Sabah had reserves of RM4 billion inherited from the previous Barisan Nasional government.

“Don’t promise until you have checked. Why propose if you don’t know how much you have? And (from his statement), it means they are inclined to make the previous government the scapegoat,” he said.

Bangkuai questioned policies such as legalising foreign workers without work permits and also the provision of land and houses for squatters.

“It seems they have the money to solve the squatter issue when previously they said the state’s financial standing was weak.

“As for legalising foreign workers, that is a new policy and not part of their election manifesto. That should have been included in the manifesto then so you can let the people judge for themselves.

“In any case, they should deport the illegal workers home first and then make them come back through the proper channels,” he said.

Bangkuai recalled Shafie also spoke about allowing foreign workers to bring in their families so that they would have peace of mind and work for a long time.

“How about the peace of mind of Sabahans? Are they happy about foreigners bringing their families here?” he asked.

Touching on the 20% oil royalty issue, Bangkuai doubted the special committee set up by the state government would be successful in their pursuit of the royalty payment.

“Remember, PBS had been fighting for this since 1985 when it was in power. Who was the prime minister then? And successive state governments have also been fighting for it.

“Shafie had said they were optimistic to get the 20% before the end of the year. Good for Sabah if they can get it but I don’t think so. But let’s wait and see,” Bangkuai said.

He said the opposition made a good a suggestion during the recent state assembly sitting when Umno’s Karanaan rep Masidi Manjun proposed that the state government should ask the federal government to give up its 5% oil royalty.

In surrendering the payment to Sabah, Masidi said it symbolises the central government’s commitment to realise the Malaysia Agreement 1963 while waiting for the distribution formula.

“That doesn’t mean we are abandoning the 20%. This will only be for now until we get what the state deserves.

“Of course, 100 days are not that long but what I mentioned are what the new state government promised. To me it’s been a failure (so far) as they don’t seem to know what they’re doing,” he said.