Penang to make auditor’s findings public, says Lim - The Star

By Derrick Vinesh

BUTTERWORTH: The findings of the private auditor into the financial status of Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP), whose reserves fell from RM229mil in 2000 to just RM25.6mil at the end of 2007, will be made public.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the public had the right to know how the council’s reserves had come down.

“If the municipal council had built a lapangan terbang (airport) here, perhaps we can understand.

“But, there is no lapangan terbang and yet the money could terbang (fly),” he said.

Lim said those who were not involved in any mishandling of funds need not fear as the auditing process was merely aimed at improving the council’s performance.

“But the guilty ones who took public money and became very rich will be investigated,” he said when opening Bagan Dalam assemblyman A. Tanasekharan’s service centre in Jalan Bagan Luar here yesterday.

He said the new state government was worried the council would be broke by the end of the year.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/14/nation/20944322&sec=nation]