MELAKA: Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh (pic) has defended his record in office as PKR seeks answers on 55 development projects while Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) has questioned Melaka's finances.
The caretaker Chief Minister rejected claims that 55 projects were in trouble.
He said his administration was working to resolve problems with state projects inherited from previous administrations and that most troubled projects came under the Federal Government’s Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU).
"Some are state government projects I inherited from previous administrations, and I am now working to correct them," he said in an interview on Tuesday (Nov 3).
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Ab Rauf said federal authorities were responsible for work handovers and oversight on projects under their purview.
He said putting the inherited projects back on track would be among his priorities if given another term.
On Monday (Nov 2), PKR deputy secretary-general Sivamalar Genapathy called for a project-by-project update on the 55 developments that had yet to begin as of June last year.
Ab Rauf had disclosed on June 10 last year that only 86 of 241 state development projects had been completed, while 100 were being implemented and 55 had yet to start.
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The Melaka Barisan chairman also disputed former economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli’s assessment of the state’s finances, saying expenditure had never exceeded revenue during his tenure.
Speaking at the launch of Bersama's election manifesto on Monday (Nov 2), Rafizi said Melaka’s spending grew by an average of 6.72% a year between 2021 and 2024, nearly three times the annual revenue growth of 2.28%.
He said the state went from recording surpluses in 2021 and 2022 to running deficits of RM59mil in 2023 and RM29mil in 2024.
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Ab Rauf questioned the source of Rafizi's figures and cited Melaka’s investment performance in defence of his administration.
In March, he had said the state recorded RM14.68bil in approved investments last year, its highest in 22 years.
"I will let the voters judge my administration’s record," he added.
