Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, his state executive councillors and state assemblymen yesterday declared their assets for the third time since 2011.
“The first declaration of assets was carried out in 2011, involving all state exco members.
“In 2013, the state government decided to include all Pakatan assemblymen in the asset declaration,” he said.
Guan Heng said the assets were independently audited by auditing firm Grant Thornton.
Poorest, Richest
The poorest state exco member is still Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim and the richest is Phee Boon Poh.
Abdul Malik only has two cars – a Proton Tiara valued at RM36,000 and a RM148,000 Peugeot 508. He’s still paying the loan on the Peugeot.
Boon Poh, who comes from a wealthy family, has so many assets that the font size of his one-page declaration was shrunk by more than half compared with the other exco members to fit everything in.
He owns 11 properties, including one in Hamilton, New Zealand. Most of the properties are jointly held and three are inherited.
Boon Poh owns shares and warrants in 25 counters on Bursa Malaysia, and has about RM360,000 parked in unit trusts.
He also declared fixed deposits of RM1.59 million, of which RM18,846 is pledged for share margins; RM545,556 jointly held with his son; and another RM1.03 million held in trust for DAP.
He has two cars: a Nissan Serena and Toyota Alphard.
Chief Minister, Deputies
Guan Eng declared two shophouses in Melaka bought for RM435,000 and RM530,000 respectively, with the latter being a jointly-owned property.
He has another property, the controversial bungalow in Jalan Pinhorn, Penang, bought for RM2.8 million with an RM2.1 million loan.
The chief minister does not invest much in the share market, having only between 1,000 and 3,000 shares in five counters.
His investments in Amanah Mutual funds increased from RM130,108 as of Jan 31, 2013, to RM174,832 as of Oct 31, 2017. His Public Mutual investments rose from RM24,959 in 2013 to RM66,254 as of July 31, 2017.
He has RM553,592 in fixed deposits (FD).
Guan Eng does not have a personal car.
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon appears to be a firm believer of unit trust funds, with over RM1.4 million parked in 15 of them.
In 2013, he invested a total of RM556,874 in 10 unit trust funds with Public Mutual. In the latest declaration, his investment is listed as RM1.59 million in 15 unit trust funds with Public Mutual.
Rashid owns a Nissan Sentra.
In contrast, Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P Ramasamy does not invest in any shares or trust funds, but he has five cars: Mercedes E240, BMW X3, Ford Courier, Toyota Hilux and a Perodua Axia.
Assets of Others
State DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow also increased his investments in Public Mutual from RM89,430 in 2013 to RM225,416.
His fixed deposits likewise increased from RM50,302 in 2013 to RM658,852.
The State Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman declared a house in Balik Pulau and a jointly-owned apartment in Bukit Gambir.
His personal car is a Mitsubishi ASX worth RM101,000.
State executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo appears to have refinanced his home in Batu Ferringhi again, from RM542,000 in 2013 to RM765,000 this time.
State executive councillor Dr Afif Bahardin has jointly purchased a property worth RM1.01 million in Taman Pauh Jaya, with a loan amount of RM961,000.
He also declared a Kia Sorento 2.4 four-wheel drive for RM164,000 which he bought with a loan.
The priciest car was declared by Lim Hock Seng, who bought a BMW X5 for RM377,000 with a RM200,000 loan.
Two Members of Parliament – Bukit Mertajam’s Steven Sim Chee Keong and Bayan Baru’s Sim Tze Tzin – also declared their assets although they were not required to do so.
Steven declared a jointly-owned house in Bukit Mertajam worth RM290,000 with a loan of RM268,000. He does not own a car.
PKR’s Tze Tzin, on the other hand, declared a RM448,000 house in Ara Damansara, Selangor, which is still on a bank loan, and some 50,000 shares in five different companies.
He also has a locally-assembled Hyundai Santa Fe four-wheel drive bought at RM158,000 with a bank loan.
The asset declaration by Guan Eng, his 10 exco members, 19 PH assemblymen and the two MPs were made available to the press yesterday.
The information is also found in www.penang.gov.my.
Salaries
The official salaries of the Penang chief minister, exco members and assemblymen are:
- Chief minister: RM14,175.15
- Exco members: RM12,101.29
- Assemblymen: RM11,250
Guan Eng also receives a RM16,000 salary as Bagan MP, excluding other allowances.
He is the lowest paid chief executive of a state in the country, with the highest being the Sarawak chief minister at RM39,000, followed by Terengganu and Pahang where the menteri besar is reportedly paid RM30,000 a month.
The speaker of the assembly and Penang assemblyman for Bukit Tambun Law Choo Kiang is paid RM12,101.29 while opposition leader Jahara Hamid is given an allowance of RM3,000.
