Manek Urai’s choice — oil royalty or bridge

By Adib Zalkapli, The Malaysian Insider

In the final lap of the Manek Urai campaign, the choice is either voting for a new bridge offered by the Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat's insistence that voters take the opportunity to pressure the federal government to pay oil royalty to Kelantan.

Throughout the campaign PAS has repeatedly claimed that the federal government owes the state RM1 billion for oil extracted off Kelantan shores since 2004.

At a rally last night, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ridiculed the promise to build a new bridge linking Manek Urai Lama and Manek Urai Baru to replace the 40-year-old single-lane bridge.

“Do not talk about the bridge, give back the RM1 billion and let Tok Guru manage it, they talk about RM6, RM7 million because they think people are stupid,” said Anwar in Sungai Peria near here.

He also slammed the federal government's plan to build new mosques in the rural constituency.

“Manek Urai is not about new mosques, there are enough mosques in Manek Urai,” Anwar told the all Muslim crowd.

DAP's Lim Kit Siang also spoke at what was the biggest Pakatan rally throughout the campaign that caused traffic congestion in the constituency.

Anwar, the PKR de facto leader, told some 5,000 people who attended the rally that he will use PAS's victory in Manek Urai to strengthen Pakatan's demand to the federal government to pay the oil royalty to the state.

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