Sarawak has once again been accorded a 'clean certificate' for its 2010 Public Accounts for the ninth consecutive year, Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud said today.

Taib, who is also state finance minister, said the state had also been reaffirmed with commendable credit ratings from both the international and domestic rating agencies, including Moody's, Rating Agency Malaysia (RAM) and Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC).

"These track records show that the state government has conducted its financial affairs in a transparent, accountable and prudent manner in line with the applicable rules and regulation and must, therefore, continue to be disciplined in the way we manage our finances if we were to continue to be a financially healthy state," he said when tabling the Supply (2012) Bill 2011 during the Sarawak legislative assembly sitting.

He said it was much more critical now for Sarawak to ensure sustainability of its credit ratings, especially in its efforts to attract direct and indirect investments into the state in a bigger way in the future.

Sarawak was the only state in the country that had been able to place itself to greater scrutiny and review by such rating agencies that benchmarked its financial management with that of countries around the world, he said.

- Bernama