Adly challenges BN to substantiate claim of 97 per cent manifesto fulfilment

MELAKA: Barisan Nasional (BN) must provide detailed evidence to support its claim that it had fulfilled 97 per cent of the promises in its manifesto for the 15th Melaka State Election in 2021, said Melaka Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Adly Zahari.

He called on Melaka BN to provide a comprehensive list of its achievements for the people to assess the actual implementation status of the 103 initiatives outlined in the manifesto across five main thrusts.

"The claimed achievements should be accompanied by a complete list showing the status and commitments so that voters can make their own assessment," he said at PH's daily press conference at the coalition's main operations room in Bukit Baru here today.

Adly, who is defending the Bukit Katil seat in the 16th Melaka State Election, said transparency in presenting manifesto achievements was important to ensure that every commitment announced by the government could be assessed based on actual implementation outcomes, rather than merely percentage figures.

He also said that based on a summary of the Auditor-General's Report, the Melaka government suffered a deficit in 2024, with revenue of RM490 million against expenditure of RM519 million.

He said the figures underscored the importance of prudent financial management, as well as ensuring that every spending decision was properly documented and produced verifiable results.

"Sometimes we may be able to increase revenue, but expenditure management must also be given priority... that is why, according to the 2024 records, the (state government's) revenue was RM490 million, while expenditure stood at RM519 million," he said.

According to Adly, Melaka recorded a financial surplus of RM50 million in 2019 when he led the state administration.

He said PH, through its "Melaka Rumah Kita" aspirations, was offering clean, transparent and integrity-driven governance, including ensuring that every ringgit of public funds was managed prudently.

He said voters were entitled to clear information on the state government's achievements so that they could make informed assessments ahead of the state election.

The Election Commission has set Nov 14 as polling day for the Melaka state election, with early voting scheduled for Nov 10. — BERNAMA