Lim: Penang is 'marginalised' in 11MP

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has continued to question why the state was allegedly left out of the the 11th Malaysian Plan (11MP).

He said the state was third in paying the highest amount of taxes in Putrajaya but was not even identified as a “competitive city” in the 11MP.

He pointed out Penang in 2014 paid a total of RM6.302 billion in direct and indirect taxes, preceded by Johor with RM8.575 billion and topped by the Federal Territories with RM109.612 billion.

He had cited a Finance Ministry parliamentary answer to Batu Gajah MP V. Sivakumar of the DAP who asked about the amount of taxes states submit to the federal government each year.

He questioned why cities like Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru were listed as growth cities but not Penang.

“What does this show? This shows Penang is being punished and marginalised because Penang is not part of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government,” he said in a press conference today.

Putrajaya has allocated a RM260 billion budget for the 11MP over the next five years in a final push to attain developed nation status for Malaysia in 2020.

Projects under the five-year plan include addressing issues in social welfare, green growth, infrastructure and innovation.