Parti Sarawak Bersatu president Wong Soon Koh, in a statement today, said DBOS conducted lending activities and managed its deposits and placements like any other bank or financial institution.

“But, we must also know that the only source of deposit placement with DBOS comes from government coffers.

“DBOS is not allowed to collect or accept any deposits from any other sources.

“DBOS is not a separate entity from the Sarawak government. Hence, any fund expanded by the bank is from the state’s reserves while any loans or any bond issued by DBOS could become a liability of the state government as DBOS is solely owned by the state government.”

DBOS was set up to finance mega development projects as well as smaller strategic infrastructure projects.

Wong, also the state’s second former finance minister, said, in fact, state reserves placed with DBOS and spent on projects were the same as spending the reserves until such time when all the loans lent out are fully recovered.

As such, he urged the state government to give a clear answer on how much of the state’s reserves had gone to DBOS.

Wong said while they did not doubt the ability of those managing DBOS, the state government should not overcommit itself to too many multibillion development projects.

Otherwise, he warned, the state may tap too much into its reserves, which will affect the confidence of foreign investors.

“We must know that our state’s reserves are our ‘rainy day fund’, painstakingly built up over the past 20 years.

“Therefore, they must be guarded zealously to enable us to navigate the challenges ahead of us.”