KUCHING: Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How has filed a Private Member’s Motion to seek power for the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) over the proposed sale of state-owned Sacofa Sdn Bhd (Sacofa) to a Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS).
The motion also seeks a full clarification on the rationale by the state government to dispose of its controlling interests in Sacofa to CMS, as well as the justification of the sale which according to See, had been priced ‘too low’.
Should the motion be accepted and passed, the DUN would have the deciding power over the proposed acquisition of Sacofa by CMS.
See noted that on April 2 this year, CMS made a statutory announcement of its proposed acquisition of 42,435,817 ordinary shares of RM1 apiece in Sacofa; representing 50% of the issued and paid-up ordinary share capital of Sacofa from the State Financial Secretary Incorporated (SFS), for a total purchase consideration of RM186,790,429.
“Sarawak, through SFS, owns 70.5 per cent shareholding in Sacofa, while Yayasan Sarawak holds 6.8 per cent equity in the company. Another state-owned company Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (Sains) owns 7.6 per cent shareholding, while Celcom Axiata Bhd has the remaining 15.1 per cent.
“For the financial years ending 2011, 2012 and 2013, Sacofa’s revenues were RM140.8 million, RM155.3 million and 153.4 million, respectively; while its pre-tax profits for the same three years were RM69.4 million, RM84.6 million and RM66.9 million, respectively. Sacofa also registered post-tax profits of RM66.93 and RM51.64 million for the financial years ending 2012 and 2013, respectively.
“Sacofa has a concession agreement with the state government, enjoying a monopoly of the installation of mobile network facilities across Sarawak. With Sacofa’s net profit at 33 per cent of its revenue every year, the proposed purchase consideration is certainly too low,” he stated on his Private Member’s Motion application to the DUN Secretariat.
See, who is state PKR vice chairman, had in a recent press conference urged Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan
Sri Adenan Satem to seek the approval of the Assembly with regard to the state government’s bid to sell the ‘golden goose’ Sacofa to CMS.
“As Sacofa is a prized telecommunication infrastructure company, it is pertinent for the state government to inform the Assembly about the proposed 50 per cent equity disposal. This is to keep up with the state government’s pledge to uphold integrity in its administration,” he said.