GEORGE TOWN: Penang’s RM16bil LRT approval was a long-overdue recognition of the state’s economic contribution, says Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
Responding to recent remarks by Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, who claimed that the Federal Government was unfair in distributing development allocations following its approval of approximately RM16bil for the Penang Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, Chow said “For a very long time, Penang was not considered for major infrastructure projects, such as the LRT Mutiara Line, Penang International Airport expansion and the Juru–Sungai Dua elevated highway.
“I believe these approvals are in line with what I have consistently highlighted over the years that Penang has not received sufficient development allocations."
Chow had repeatedly stressed that Penang had not been getting sufficient Federal funding despite being a major tax contributor while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently confirmed that among all Malaysian states, only Selangor and Penang brought in more tax revenue than they received Federal funding.
“There is no need for me to repeat the statistics published by the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
“Penang has attracted billions of ringgit in foreign direct investment and is the country’s top exporting state. We lead in medical tourism, among many other sectors that contribute substantially to the country’s tax revenue,” Chow said in a report by state publisher Buletin Mutiara.
While campaigning for PAS in Johor recently, Sanusi said during a ceramah in Mersing that it was fair for Penang, which he described as a small state with a population of about 1.7 million, to receive RM16bil for a single LRT project.
He said the allocation should have been distributed more fairly according to the needs of all states, including Johor, which had a larger land area and population.
