Wee being used as main weapon to victimise Penangites, says Guan Eng

 

The DAP has squarely placed the blame on Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong for the cancellation of three out of four major projects in Penang by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

At a press conference at the party's state headquarters in George Town today, its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Wee has been used as the "main weapon (senjata utama) to victimise" Penangites.

Reiterating the move to cancel the projects as "vengeance politics" by PN, Lim said 1.6 million people in Penang would suffer losses if the projects were not fully restored or carried out as scheduled.

He said the projects were cancelled just because Penangites held an opposite political view from the federal government.

"Out of the four projects cancelled by PN, three are directly linked to the Transport Ministry," Lim noted.

"It appears that the minister has been used as the main weapon to victimise Penang," added the Bagan MP.

The cancelled projects are the RM800-million expansion of the Penang International Airport, the RM100-million Penang Hill cable car expansion project, the RM30 million to upgrade ferry services, and construction of the Light Rail System from Bayan Lepas to Komtar as part of the Penang Transport Master Plan.

Lim strongly urged Penangites to support the DAP's signature campaign to bring back the four projects, which were approved during Pakatan Harapan's 22-month rule.

However, the Harapan government collapsed in February last year and the PN administration led by Bersatu's Muhyiddin Yassin has since ruled Putrajaya. 

Signature campaign

Lim said the campaign was a good way to raise awareness among Penangites about their rights over the cancelled projects.

He, however, said the Finance Ministry was also responsible for withdrawing funds for the projects.

"We have to support the signature campaign to ensure that no more projects are cancelled by PN.

"We do not know in 2021 what other initiatives in Penang would be cancelled by the PN government," the Air Putih assemblyperson added. 

He was speaking at the same press event where Penang DAP launched a signature campaign to raise awareness among Penangites on the cancellation of the four major infrastructure projects in the state.

Senator Lim Hui Ying, who led the campaign, said the cancellation was carried out without any valid reason. - Mkini