Abang Johari Openg said the decision was made because the two bodies had the potential to stand on their own (Photo by Zahid Izzani/The Edge)

KUCHING (June 25): The Sarawak government will not inject any more funds for capital outlay into two of its statutory bodies, the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and Bintulu Development Authority (BDA), with effect from 2027.

Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the decision was made because the two bodies had the potential to stand on their own as well as to start a new organisational culture of not being overly dependent on the government.

“We want them to generate their own revenue. They have to explore new revenue streams because some of the subsidiaries are involved in commerce and economic activity,” he told reporters after officiating the National Auditors’ Conference here today.

He said the statutory bodies would need to monitor their subsidiaries’ performances to ensure they could profit from their ventures, which could be broadened further to include new commercial activities like waste-to-energy products or green energy.

“Therefore, the government does not need to provide [allocations] anymore. We’ll use the savings that we get for other infrastructure projects with slow returns, like building schools and clinics,” he said.

Abang Johari said the move was made in the hope of changing the mindset of those running the statutory bodies, making them fully responsible for their subsidiaries’ performances.

“The government would not have to use the money (fund) to give them capital and then they just stay inert, thinking that it is okay to incur losses as the government would give them money. That sort of mindset must change,” he said.

Speaking at the conference earlier, he said the Sarawak government’s plan to cease channelling capital funds to statutory bodies was to promote lean management in such bodies while reducing financial leakages.

“Every year, they (statutory bodies) ask for capital contributions and it has become a system. The government has to give capital outlay every year without knowing the returns. That is where leakages would happen,” he said.

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