Kota Kinabalu PPBM division chief Faisyal YH Diego questioned the rationale behind the move by the previous state government to approve a loan to a debt-ridden airline.
“ As we all know, their creditors are hot on their heels. It had been reported the airline is bogged down with a RM65 billion debt,” he said in a statement here today.
He also challenged Shafie to explain why the Warisan-led government granted a RM300 million loan to a debt-ridden airline when the people of Sabah needed it more.
Faisyal said it was reported that the loan was approved because AirAsia had promised to carry out a project that could create 100,000 jobs in Sabah.
“Who are they trying to fool? An airline company that retrenched 2,400 of its own workers promised to create 100,000 jobs with a RM300 million loan?
“And they want to do this in time of a crisis? Do they think Sabahans are gullible enough to actually believe this?”
Shafie had earlier today welcomed any investigation into the RM300 million loan from the state-owned bank to AirAsia, saying neither he nor anyone in the previous administration had anything to hide over the approved loan. He added that “nothing was hidden” too in the whole process.
“This is because the loan was not approved overnight. Instead, SDB had carried out its own investigation and thorough risk assessment before deciding to approve the loan.
“AirAsia is a public-listed company with Bursa Malaysia, hence, the approval for any transaction worth RM300 million will only be given after all conditions of the loan are met by the borrower,” Shafie said, in a statement.
Meanwhile, Faisyal said just over a year ago, Shafie had declared that Sabah money should only be used to develop the state before ordering SDB to stop investing in property development projects in the peninsula.
“He had said that Sabah needed the money more. Given this recent development with AirAsia, did Shafie consider loaning Sabah money to a risky debtor as ‘developing the state’?
“On the other hand, loaning an absurd amount of money at a time of crisis was not only unwise but almost inexplicable,” he said.