BERNAMA – Public funds cannot be used to finance Perak FC

IPOH, Feb 21 — The Perak state government cannot use existing allocation to finance the expenses of Impact Media & Communication (IMC) Sdn Bhd, which is the largest shareholder of the state football team, Perak FC.

Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said whatever expenses, deferred payments or players’ salaries are now the responsibility of the company.

“The state government cannot finance the company. How can we use state government funds to finance the expenses of a company? In fact, the state government cannot be blamed for any deferred salary or related issues,” he said after officiating the Perak state Allo Technology broadband infrastructure network implemented by Tenaga Nasional Berhad subsidiary Allo Technology Sdn Bhd here today.

The Perak Football Association (PAFA) had announced IMC Sdn Bhd as the new owner of Perak FC last December after the entire shareholding of the state footballing body was sold to the company.

During a media conference on Feb 13, PAFA announced that Perak FC would work to resolve its RM1.7 debt issue, involving deferred salaries of several former import players and payments to player agents within a week at the latest.

Saarani said the state government had previously channelled assistance of around RM5 million to help the team with deferred salaries and other matters but it would no longer do so as it needed to help develop other sports.

“I must be fair to other sports, for instance, badminton or hockey that has previously won the Tun Abdul Razak Cup. I know football has many fans but we need to use public funds as best as possible, especially for development,” he said.

— BERNAMA

Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial