Fed govt should not punish Penang, says Kah Choon

(The Edge) GEORGE TOWN: The federal government should not “cut off its own nose to spite its face” by punishing Penang through the holding back of development allocation.

InvestPenang Bhd executive committee chairman Datuk Lee Kah Choon said if this was the “modus operandi” following the change in the state leadership from the Barisan Nasional (BN) to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the country would suffer in the end.

The former Gerakan deputy secretary-general, who quit the party after taking up the position at InvestPenang, said politics should not come in the way of development, at any cost.

Commenting on Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s statement about Penang’s lack of development especially in terms of infrastructure, Lee said Penang also contributed in a big way to the nation’s economic development, by way of taxes from the manufacturing and service sectors.

“When he said Penang was lagging behind Seremban and Ipoh, I am sure he did not mean the potholed roads, but the overall development in Penang which has stagnated in the past 20-odd years,” he said.

“We do not have new roads and new infrastructure when you compare Penang to Seremban and Ipoh which have developed more in the past 20 years compared to us. However, compared to other places in the region, especially South Thailand and North Sumatera, Penang’s infrastructure is relatively okay.”

Lee said Kuan Yew was only reminding the state that if it did not move forward and improve its infrastructure it would be overtaken by its neighbours.

“This is what the MM meant when he spoke about our infrastructure, we have stagnated,” Lee said at a press briefing on investments and employment in the state.

“We must move on and we need a good state government and federal government relationship and cooperation. However, this cooperation cannot be used as a tool to punish or sideline just because of political difference,” he added.

The former health ministry parliamentary secretary said Penang must improve its facilities and infrastructure. He said the railway system had not changed much since colonial days while the Penang International Airport was only recently granted an expansion allocation of RM250 million by the federal government.

“We must move on and we need a good state government and federal government relationship and cooperation. However, this cooperation cannot be used as a tool to punish or sideline just because of political difference.

“Not only will Penang suffer, Malaysia too will lag behind. Cooperation between the state and federal governments should be above politics,” he added.