Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has refuted accusations that Putrajaya has treated Penang like a "step child" or "abandoned baby" where federal allocations were concerned.
In a statement today released in his parliamentary constituency, Bagan, Lim said the federal allocation for Penang was only RM547 million in 2017 and RM608 million in 2018.
BN was still in power in 2017 and up to April 2018.
The allocations jumped to RM857 million and RM980 million in the 2019 budget and the 2020 budget, Lim said.
"These are irresponsible claims, without fact and baseless," Lim said.
"If we refer to facts and figures and not on fake and slanderous statements, the allocation for development in Penang has actually increased in Harapan's budget, compared to BN's time," he added.
Lim was referring to certain quarters who claimed that Penang continues to be treated as a "stepchild" by the federal government although Putrajaya has been seized by Pakatan Harapan.
On Nov 23, Penang Gerakan chairperson Oh Tong Keong claimed that Lim admitted Penang’s allocation became far less than other states.
According to Oh, even the grants to Kelantan and Terengganu far exceeded that for Penang.
'Is Penang an abandoned baby?'
He pointed out that Kelantan and Terengganu, under the rule of PAS received RM1.5 billion and 1.2 billion respectively, while Penang only received about RM900 million.
Oh said Sarawak and Sabah also received RM4.4 billion and RM5.2 billion respectively.
"Is Penang an abandoned baby?" he asked.
Lim said the Harapan federal government faced a big challenge when distributing funds to all states under its 2030 Shared Prosperity policy.
He added that Harapan has vowed not to continue with the discrimination practised by the former ruling party (BN).
"The federal government will try to correct the past discrimination on opposition states like Penang, based on our financial capacity and national fiscal," Lim said. - Mkini
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